Patterson v. Allegan County Sheriff

• Decision Date: 17 May 1993
• Docket Number: Docket No. 136538
• Citation: 502 N.W.2d 368,199 Mich.App. 638
• Parties: Chester PATTERSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ALLEGAN COUNTY SHERIFF, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

Page 368

502 N.W.2d 368

199 Mich.App. 638

Chester PATTERSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ALLEGAN COUNTY SHERIFF, Defendant-Appellee.

Docket No. 136538.

Court of Appeals of Michigan.

Submitted Dec. 9, 1992, at Lansing.

Decided May 17, 1993, at 9:25 a.m.

Released for Publication July 30, 1993.

Chester Patterson, in pro. per.

Before MICHAEL J. KELLY, P.J., and FITZGERALD and TAYLOR, JJ.

TAYLOR, Judge.

Plaintiff, Chester Patterson, appeals by leave granted a circuit court order granting summary disposition to defendant, the Allegan County Sheriff, and dismissing plaintiff's action under the Freedom of Information Act ¹ (FOIA). We reverse.

The operative facts are undisputed. Plaintiff, a prisoner, sent defendant a letter requesting official police booking photographs (mug shots) of two female prisoners who were then in the custody of the sheriff's department. Defendant responded to this request with a written denial that was based on a departmental policy not to make such photographs available except to police agencies.

Plaintiff filed suit and moved for partial summary disposition. In response, defendant argued that the requested mug shots are not public records as defined in M.C.L. § 15.232(c) and (e); M.S.A. § 4.1801(2)(c) and (e), and asserted that its nondisclosure policy is intended to prevent unwarranted invasions of the privacy of arrested individuals. The trial court granted summary disposition to defendant under MCR 2.116(I)(2) on the ground that the mug shots are not public records because they lack meaningful content.

The pivotal issue in this case is whether a mug shot is a public record under the FOIA. The clear and unambiguous language of the statute leads to the unequivocal conclusion that a mug shot is a public record. A public record is defined as a "writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body in the performance of an official function," ² and a writing is defined as "photographing" and "pictures". ³ The phrase "or other means of recording or retaining meaningful content" at the end of M.C.L. § 15.232(e); M.S.A. § 4.1801(2)(e) is a catchall, not a modifier. In any event, contrary to defendant's argument, a mug shot does contain meaningful content.

Defendant's contention that the photographs are nondisclosable under the privacy exemption is also without merit. M.C.L. § 15.243(1)(a); M.S.A. § 4.1801(13)(1)(a); Detroit Free Press, Inc. v. Oakland Co. Sheriff, 164 Mich.App. 656, 660-666, 418 N.W.2d 124 (1987).

We disagree with plaintiff's claim that he is entitled to punitive damages under M.C.L. § 15.240(5); M.S.A. § 4.1801(10)(5). Defendant's denial of the FOIA request, albeit wrong, was not arbitrary or capricious. Tallman v. Cheboygan Area Schools, 183 Mich.App. 123, 126, 454 N.W.2d 171 (1990); Walloon Lake Water System, Inc. v. Melrose Twp., 163 Mich.App. 726, 734, 415 N.W.2d 292 (1987).

We decline to review plaintiff's discrimination claims because he has failed to cite any authority to support those claims. We will not search for authority to sustain a party's position. Byrne v. Schneider's Iron & Metal, Inc., 190 Mich.App. 176, 183, 475 N.W.2d 854 (1991).

Reversed.

1 M.C.L. § 15.231 et seq.; M.S.A. § 4.1801(1) et seq.

2 M.C.L. § 15.232(c); M.S.A. § 4.1801(2)(c).

3 M.C.L. § 15.232(e); M.S.A. § 4.1801(2)(e).