The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth
Public Records Division
Shawn A. Williams

Supervisor ofRecords

February 24, 2015
SPR14/739
Mr. Darren Duarte
Director of Public Affairs
Department of Correction
50 Maple Street, Suite 3
Milford, MA 0 17 57
Dear Mr. Duarte:
I have received the petition of Todd Wallack of the Boston Globe appealing the response
ofthe Department of Correction (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 §
10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Wallack requested a copy a
"chronological booking log" maintained by the Department. The Department denied this
request, stating that the "booking log" is comprised of Criminal Offender Record Information
(CORI) and is therefore exempt from disclosure by statute. G. L. c. 4, §7 (26)(a), (c); G. L. c. 6
§ 167-172H.
Exemption (a)
Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law permits the withholding of records that are:
specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute
G. L. c. 4, §7 (26)(a)
A governmental entity may use the statutory exemption as a basis for withholding
requested materials where the language of the exempting statute relied upon expressly or
necessarily implies that the public's right to inspect records under the Public Records Law is
restricted. See Attorney General v. Collector of Lynn, 377 Mass. 151, 54 (1979); Ottaway
Newspapers, Inc. v. Appeals Court, 372 Mass. 539, 545-46 (1977). This office cannot order
disclosure of records if a statute mandates nondisclosure. General Chemical Corp. v.
Department of Environmental Quality Engineering, 19 Mass. App. Ct. 287 (Mass. App. Ct.
1985).
OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914
www.sec.state.ma.us/pre

 Mr. Darren Duarte
Page Two
February 24,2015

SPR14/739

In your response you explained that under CORI the Department "is prohibited from
disclosing an inmate's prison records to any other individual absent a release duly executed by
that inmate or otherwise pursuant to a court order." The applicable statute that permits the
Department to withhold certain records pursuant to Exemption (a) is the CORI Act. CORI,
which is statutorily exempt from disclosure, is defined as:
[A]ny records and data in any communicable form compiled by a criminal justice
agency which concern an identifiable individual and relate to the nature or disposition of
a criminal charge, an arrest, a pre-trial proceeding, or other judicial proceedings,
sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation, or release. Such information shall be restricted to
that recorded as the result of the initiation of criminal proceedings or any consequent
proceedings related thereto. Criminal offender record information shall not include
evaluative information, statistical and analytical reports and files in which individuals are
not directly or indirectly identifiable, or intelligence information.
G. L. c. 6, § 167
The Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) has previously defined
the "initiation of criminal proceedings" as "the point when a criminal investigation is sufficiently
complete that the investigating officers take actions toward bringing a specific suspect to court."
See SPR11/029 Determination of Supervisor of Public Records (April 22, 2011 ). DCJIS has
opined that the legislative intent in enacting the statute included "events occurring prior to the
issuance of a complaint." (emphasis added).
As indicated by regulation, the Department has the discretion to withhold records
determined to be CORI and created as the result of the initiation of criminal proceedings. 803
C.M.R. 2 03(3). I find the requested booking log falls within the efinition of CORI.
Accordingly, it is the finding of this office that the Department ,ted appropriately in
withholding the requested record as CORI. This administr tiv ppeal is now closed.
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cc: Mr. Todd Wallack