MATTHEWS, SHIELS, KNOTT,

EDEN, DAVIS & BEANLAND, L.L.P.

ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS TOM D. MATTHEWS (1910-1988)
KYLE T. BARRY TOM D. MATTHEWS, JR.
MISTI L. BEANLAND* 8131 LBJ FREEWAY, SUITE 700 CHRISTEN C. PAQUIN
ROBERT J. DAVIS DALLAS, TEXAS 75251 THOMAS A. SHIELS
ROBERT L. EDEN MARLENE D. THOMSON*
DANIEL A. KNOTT TELEPHONE: (972) 234-3400
TELECOPIER: (972) 234-1750

*licensed in Texas and Oklahoma

April 2, 2024
Writer’s Voice Mail Extension: 225
Writer’s E-Mail: bdavis@mssattorneys.com

VIA ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION

Open Records Division
Office of the Attorney General, State of Texas
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548

Re: Public Information Request Received by the Collin County Sheriff’s Office on April 1,
2024, for records related to an Investigation/Inquiry
Our File No. 1600/67953 GovQA No. P002714-040124

REQUEST FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL DECISION

Dear Open Records Division:

Pursuant to and required by the Texas Public Information Act, TEX. GOV. CODE §552.301,
as attorney for Collin County, we are hereby respectfully requesting an Attorney General Decision
regarding the Sheriff’s Office’s authority and obligation to withhold requested information from
public disclosure pursuant to Section 552.108(a)(2)(information the release of which would interfere
with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime if it is information that deals with the
detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime only in relation to an investigation that did not result
in conviction or deferred adjudication); and Section 552.101 (information considered to be
confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision) in conjunction with
Constitutional Privacy. This request is submitted within ten (10) business days of the receipt of the
request from the Requestor.

I.
Requested Information and Exceptions to Disclosure

On April 1, 2024, Requestor Ryan Gallagher-Van Kush submitted a request through the
Collin County Sheriff’s Office electronic Public Information Act records management system
[GovQA] regarding an incident occurring on February 10, 2020, wherein he sought:

“There are Phone Calls between me and Officer Andrew Hatch from that February.
It was 2021 or 2020, but I’m thinking it was 2021. Officer Hatch might have the Case
Number. He should also have Investigative Records from Investigating Aggravated
Perjury, and it was Never Resolved.”[Incident Log & Offense Report]
Attorney General’s Office
April 2, 2024
Page 2

Pursuant to §552.301(e)(1)(c), a true and correct copy of the March 11, 2024, GovQA request
from Requestor is attached as Exhibit No. 1. The Responsive Collin County Sheriff’s Office records
are attached as Exhibit No. 2.

While Collin County Sheriff’s Office believes in transparent government, it is also required
to follow the applicable law(s) regarding the Texas Public Information Act and appropriate release
of confidential records and law enforcement records. As the Texas Supreme Court has held
“[G]overnmental compliance with confidentiality laws is mandatory, and their protections may not
be waived by governmental entities." In re City of Georgetown, 53 S.W.3d 328, 340 (Tex.
2001)(Abbott, J., dissenting). Further, a governmental body has no discretion to release information
deemed confidential by law. See, Section 552.007 and Dominguez v. Gilbert, 48 S.W.3d 789, 793
(Tex. App.—Austin 2001, no pet.). Moreover, Section 552.352(a) states: “A person commits an
offense if the person distributes information considered confidential under the terms of this chapter.”

The Sheriff’s Office contends that the entirety of the responsive records are exempt from
disclosure pursuant Section 552.108(a)(2) because it is information, the release of which would
interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime if it is information that deals with
the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime only in relation to an investigation that did not
result in conviction or deferred adjudication. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office contends that the
records are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Section 552.101 in conjunction with Common law
privacy, and Constitutional privacy. The specific factual and legal grounds supporting the Collin
County Sheriff’s Office’s request for this Office’s decision is set forth more fully below.

II.
Legal and Factual Basis supporting Withholding of Requested Information

The Collin County Sheriff’s Office is a law enforcement agency whose functions include the
detection, investigation, prevention, and prosecution of crimes.1 As part of its law enforcement
activities, Collin County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and/or Investigators respond to and/or investigate
reports of possible criminal activity, and if appropriate, detain and/or arrest suspects, and further, if
warranted, continue in the criminal investigation and/or prosecution of such suspect(s).2

The requestor Ryan Gallagher was declared a Vexatious Litigant on January 24, 2020.3 Then,
on February 10, 2020, the Requestor contacted the Collin County Sheriff’s Office regarding a
complaint of alleged perjury presumably arising from the Vexatious litigant hearing. This report of
perjury was then investigated by members of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office. The Collin County
Sheriff’s Office’s law enforcement activities are memorialized in the resulting Collin County
Sheriff’s Office INCIDENT REPORT number 20023116.4 There was no criminal conduct and the report
by the Requestor was deemed informational only as “no criminal offense was established.”5

1
See, Ex. 2; see also, https://www.collincountytx.gov/sheriff/Pages/default.aspx
2
See, Ex. 2; see also, https://www.collincountytx.gov/sheriff/Pages/default.aspx
3
https://www.txcourts.gov/judicial-data/vexatious-litigants/
4
See, Ex. 2
5
See, Ex. 2
Attorney General’s Office
April 2, 2024
Page 3

III.
Discussion and Analysis of Exemptions from Disclosure

The requested Sheriff’s Office records should not be released for the reasons detailed below.

1. Section 552.108(a)(2)

Section 552.108(a)(2) excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement

agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . .
it is information that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime only in relation
to an investigation that did not result in conviction or deferred adjudication."

As discussed above, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office is clearly a law enforcement agency
whose functions include the detection, investigation and/or prosecution of individual(s) suspected
of and/or charged with crime(s). The Collin County Sheriff’s Office’s INCIDENT REPORT reflects that
as part of the Sheriff’s Office’s law enforcement functions, various Deputies responded to and
investigated possible criminal conduct, but such investigation(s) did not result in conviction or
deferred adjudication. In fact, no criminal conduct had occurred. The Collin County Sheriff’s
Office’s records sought herein related to an investigation about criminal offenses which did not result
in conviction or deferred adjudication, and thus, should be withheld under Section 552.108(a)(2).6

2. Constitutional Privacy

Section 552.101 also encompasses the Constitutional right to privacy. Constitutional privacy
protects two kinds of interests. See Whalen v. Roe, 429 U.S. 589, 599-600 (1977); Open Records
Decision OR2013-22217, 2013 Tex. AG Ltr. Rul. LEXIS 21648, at *7-8 (2013). The first is the
interest in independence in making certain important decisions relating to the "zones of privacy"
pertaining to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, and child rearing and
education the United States Supreme Court has recognized. See Fadjo v. Coon, 633 F.2d 1172 (5th
Cir. 1981); OR2013-22217, id. The second constitutionally protected privacy interest is in freedom
from public disclosure of certain personal matters. See Ramie v. City of Hedwig Village, Tex., 765
F.2d 490 (5 Cir. 1985); th ORD 455 at 6-7. This aspect of constitutional privacy balances the
individual's privacy interest against the public's interest in the information. Open Records Decision
OR2013-22217, 2013 Tex. AG Ltr. Rul. LEXIS 21648, at *8-9 (2013). Constitutional privacy under
section 552.101 is reserved for "the most intimate aspects of human affairs" and the scope of
information protected is narrower than that under the common-law doctrine of privacy. Id. (internal
quotations omitted)(quoting Ramie, 765 F.2d at 492).

Information about the involved individual(s) involves facts regarding such person(s), the
publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person and the information is
not of legitimate concern to the public, particularly since the allegations by the Requestor were a
calculated effort to besmirch the counsel who had the Requestor declared a Vexatious Litigant. Thus,
the Requestor is not be entitled to the records under constitutional law privacy encompassed by
Section 552.101.

6
See, Ex. 2
Attorney General’s Office
April 2, 2024
Page 4

IV.
Conclusion

Quite simply, the foregoing facts and discussion preclude the release of the requested records
at this time. The Requestor is being provided with a copy of this request, as required under Section
552.301(d) of the Act, but not the exhibits attached hereto.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Robert J. Davis

ROBERT J. DAVIS

RJD:bd
T:\233\1\1600\67953 Gallagher\PIA 2024\Attorney General Request (04-02-24).wpd

cc: (without any enclosures, letter only)

VIA GovQA
Ryan Gallagher