Fryar v. Guste
| Decision Date | 21 May 1979 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 63149,63166,s. 63149 |
| Citation | 371 So.2d 742 |
| Parties | Milford L. FRYAR v. William F. GUSTE, Jr. |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
Frank M. Coates, Jr., Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, Baton Rouge, for plaintiff-applicant in No. 63149 and for plaintiff-respondent in No. 63166.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Ellis C. Magee, Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Kenneth C. DeJean, Thomas S. Halligan, Asst. Attys. Gen., John DiGiulio, Staff Atty., Baton Rouge, for defendant-respondent in No. 63149 and defendant-applicant in No. 63166.
Plaintiff and defendant both complain of error in the Court of Appeal decision reversing the trial court's dismissal of this suit and holding that certain of the files in the Attorney General's office are public records subject to examination by the plaintiff, a person qualified to inspect such records under the Public Records Act.
Plaintiff, Milford L. Fryar, a reporter for Capital City Press, sought access to records in the custody of the office of defendant, the Attorney General of Louisiana. Plaintiff claimed a right to inspect under authority of the Public Records Act, LSA-R.S. 44:1, Et seq. The records consist of files containing interviews conducted by staff members of the Attorney General's office for the purpose of investigating alleged irregularities involving the Ascension Parish Police Jury.
In the spring of 1976 a Grand Jury in Ascension Parish was investigating the alleged irregularities. In late March, the District Attorney requested assistance from the Attorney General's office. Several Department of Justice staff members went to Ascension Parish and conducted interviews of eleven persons; reports of the interviews were furnished to parish authorities. No charges were brought by either the Grand Jury or the District Attorney, and the Grand Jury investigation in the parish was ended by mid-April of 1976.
In May of 1976 some citizens of the parish met with the Attorney General and requested that there be a further investigation. As a result of this meeting, the Attorney General's staff once again interviewed persons in Ascension Parish. In all, fifty-two people were interviewed, some more than once. Some of those interviewed were persons who had been interviewed previously. Some had testified before the Grand Jury. Fourteen of those interviewed, who showed a reluctance to talk freely, were assured that any information they gave would remain confidential except for necessary appearances to testify in court or before another Grand Jury. Glenwood L. Bullard, an investigator for the Louisiana Department of Justice, testified that if a person were reluctant to be interviewed, he would be assured that his information would be held in strictest confidence and that there was a specific state law which prohibited making this information available to anyone. However, if the person were willing to talk and expressed no reservations, no such assurances were given. Only fourteen were assured of confidentiality. Bullard also testified that nothing in the files would indicate to which persons this assurance was given, though he himself does know. These interviews were concluded in February of 1977, and the following month the reports were furnished to the District Attorney in Ascension Parish. He stated that since nothing new was disclosed by this investigation he considered the matter to be closed.
The district court denied plaintiff permission to view the files on two bases:
(1) That LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 434 requires persons having confidential access to information concerning grand jury proceedings to keep secret the testimony of witnesses appearing before the grand jury and all other matters occurring at or directly connected with the meeting of the grand jury;
(2) That much of the information contained in the report of the Attorney General was derived from confidential sources of information and was privileged under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 44:3(A)(2).
The Court of Appeal, First Circuit, reversed and remanded with instructions. As to the eleven persons who testified or were interviewed during the Grand Jury investigation, the Court held their identities and testimony must remain confidential under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 434. As to the fourteen persons to whom an assurance of confidentiality was given, the Court found them to be confidential sources of information under R.S. 44:3(A)(2); however, the Court noted that the Attorney General cannot designate a person as a confidential source when that person gives information willingly. The Court found that the records pertaining to the other interviews are subject to scrutiny under the Public Records Act. The trial judge was ordered to make an In-camera examination of the Attorney General's files and to conduct necessary hearings in order to remove from the files those portions which must remain confidential; then plaintiff would be permitted to inspect and copy the remainder of the material in the files.
The Attorney General complains of the decision and claims that all of the investigation was directly connected with the original Grand Jury investigation, that the records must remain confidential under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 434, and that all of those interviewed are confidential sources of information who must be protected under R.S. 44:3.
Plaintiff complains of the decision and claims a right to inspect all files containing information not part of the actual testimony before the Grand Jury; included in this claimed right to inspect are those reports which the Attorney General agreed to keep confidential, since plaintiff claims the persons interviewed are not, in fact, confidential sources of information to whom R.S. 44:3 is designed to apply.
This Court granted writs.
The Court of Appeal was clearly correct in ruling that the interviews with the eleven persons conducted prior to adjournment of the Grand Jury were a part of the Grand Jury investigation and all matters connected therewith must remain confidential. LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 434.
From our reading of the record, we find that the Court of Appeal was...
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In re Matter under Investigation
...testimony as to whether criminal litigation is reasonably anticipated is not sufficient to establish this fact. In Fryar v. Guste, 371 So.2d 742 (La.1979), this Court noted that La. R.S. 44:3(A)(1) does not apply where the district attorney regarded the matter as closed. In my view, the tri......
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Skamangas v. Stockton
...et seq., provides for public access to information concerning state government as it is conducted through its many agencies. Fryar v. Guste, 371 So.2d 742 (La.1979). It is a product of La. Const. Art. 12, § 3, which No person shall be denied the right to observe the deliberations of public ......
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Kirsch v. Parker
...analogously, the Supreme Court's refusal to honor law enforcement officers' promise of confidentiality to informers in Fryar v. Guste, La.1979, 371 So.2d 742, 746: "we feel compelled to make the further observation that access to such (otherwise non-confidential) reports may not be blocked ......
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...of confidentiality by HANO is not sufficient to keep the proposals from being subject to the Public Records Law. See, Fryar v. Guste, 371 So.2d 742 (La.1979). The Public Records Law mandates that HANO release the proposals unless federal law mandates confidentiality. State law is preempted ......