Cormier v. Public Records Request of DiGuilio
| Decision Date | 08 December 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-CC-2351,89-CC-2351 |
| Parties | Dallas CORMIER, Sheriff, v. In re PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST OF John Di GIULIO. 553 So.2d 806 |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
Writ granted. Generally, all records, writings, recordings, tapes, reproductions, and electronic data used, prepared for use, possessed, or retained by any instrumentality of state, parish or municipal government are "public records", except as otherwise provided specifically by law. La.R.S. 44:1(A)(1) & (2). Unless otherwise specifically provided by law, any person of the age of majority may inspect, copy or reproduce or obtain a reproduction of any public record. La.R.S. 44:31.
Some records held by district attorneys, sheriffs and police departments are specifically excluded from classification as public records. These include: (1) records pertaining to pending or anticipated criminal litigation, until such litigation has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled; (2) records containing the identity of a confidential source or which would endanger such a source; (3) records containing security procedures, investigative techniques or training aids; (4) records of the arrest of a person until a final judgment of conviction or the acceptance of a plea of guilty; (5) records containing the identity of or tending to identify an undercover police officer; (6) records concerning status offenders as defined in the Code of Juvenile Procedure; and (7) records containing the identity of a subject of a public health disease investigation. La.R.S. 44:3(A).
Despite the exclusion from the disclosure requirement of arrest records until a conviction or guilty plea is obtained, however, "the initial report of the officer or officers investigating a complaint, but not to apply to any followup or subsequent report or investigation, records of the booking of a person as provided in Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 228, records of the issuance of a summons or citation, and records of the filing of a bill of information shall be a public record." La.R.S. 44:3(A)(4)(a) (emphasis added). Subparagraph (b) goes on to define the specific contents required in an "initial report."
The public records request here seeks copies of the initial police reports in a number of specific cases. Under La.R.S. 44:3(A)(4)(a), these initial reports are public records, and the requesting party is thus entitled to copies of these reports. State v. Raggio, 508 So.2d 59 (La.1987); State v. McEwen, 504 So.2d 817 (La.1987); State v. Shropshire, 471 So.2d 707 (La.1985). The plaintiff's contention that this language means that such reports are only public records when the investigation results from a complaint from the public is without merit. "Investigating a complaint" is...
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