• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
Crry
op
HousroN
Legal
Department
February
3, 2009
The
Honorable Greg
Abbott
Texas
Attorney
General
P.
O.
Box
12548
Austin,
Texas
7871
1-2$48
Attention:
Open
Records
Division
Re:
AG
lD
#
338881;
Texas PublicInformation
Act
requestdated
January
10,
2009, from
Craig
Johnson,
forthe
most
detailed
incident-leveldata
availablefromthe Housion
Police
Department
for everycrime
committedcoveringthe
years2008,
2CI07,
and 2006
Dear
GeneralAbbott:
This
is
a
follow-uptomy letterdated January
27,2A09
{Exhibit1A}.
The
City
of
Houston
("City")
receivedthe above-referencedrequest
on
January
12,
2009
(Exhibit
1).
This
City
notes that
Monday,
January
19,
2009,
was
observedas aCity
holiday.
By
copy
of
thisletter,
the
City is informinE
the
requesterthat
the
Citybelieves
therequesied
documents
{Exhibit2}
is
excepted
from
publicdisclosure
pursuant
to
g
552.101
of
the
Texas
Government
Code.
Becauseresponsiveinformation
is
voluminous,
a
representative
sample
(Exhibit
2)
hasbeenprovided
foryour
review.
Section 552.101
excepts "information
considered
to
be
confidential
by
law,
either
constitutional,
statutory,
or
by
judicial
decision."
This
sectionencompasses
both
common-
la,w
and
constitutionalprivacy,
as
wellas
informationprotected
by
other
statutes.
pursuant
to
the
Texas
SupremeCourtdecision
in
lndustrialFoundatian
of
the
Sauth
v.
Texas
lndustrial
Accident
Baard,
54A
S.W.
2d
668(Tex.
'1976),
ceftdenied,43OU.S.
931(1977),
S
552.101
appliesto informationwhen
its
disclosurewouldconstitutethecommon-lawtort
of
invasion
of
privacythrough
the disclo'sureofprivate
facts.
To
be
within
this
common-law
tort,
the
information
must
(1)
contain
highlyintimate
orembarrassingfacts
about
a
person's
privateaffairssuch that
its releasewouldbe highlyobjectionable
to
a reasonable
person
and
(2)
beof nolegitimateconcern
to
the
public.
/d
at
685;seeOpenRecordsDecisions
Nos.569
(1999),
628
(1994),and 393
(1983).A
compilation
of
anindividual's
criminal
history
is
highly
embarrassinginformation,
the
publication
of
which
wouldbe
highly
objectionableto areasonable
person.Cf"
U.S. Dep'tofJustice
v.
ReportersComm.-For
Freedom
of
the
Press,
489
U.S.
749,794
(1989).
Moreover,
a compilationof
a
private
citizen's criminalhistory
is
generally
notof legitimateconcern to
the
public.
Council
M€mbers:
Toni
Lawrence
Jarvis
Johnson
Anne
Clutterbuck
Wanda
Adams
Mike
Sullivan
M.
J.
Khan
pam
Holm
Adrian
Garcia
JamesG.
Rodriguez
Peter
Brown
Meiissa
Noriega
Sue
Lovell
RonaldC.
Green
Jolanda "Jo"
Jones
Controiler:
Annise
D.
parker
BillWhite
Mayor
Arturo
MichelCity
AttorneyLegal
Department
P.O.Box
368
Houston,Texas
77001
-0368
Ciiy
Hall Annex
900
Bagby,
4th
Floor
Houston,Texas
77002
T.713.247.20Q0
F.713
247.1017
www.
houstontx.gov
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...