By
Robert O. Dawson
Bryant Smith Chair in Law
University of Texas School of Law
2001 Case Summaries 2000 Case Summaries 1999 Case Summaries
Law enforcement juvenile records pertaining to
conduct occurring September 1, 1997 or later are confidential (99-4-17).
On April 12, 1999, the Attorney General stated in an Open Records Decision
that law enforcement juvenile records pertaining to conduct occurring on or
after September 1, 1997 are confidential under a 1997 amendment to the Family
Code. However, local law enforcement records pertaining to conduct occurring
between January 1, 1996 and September 1, 1997 are not confidential and their
disclosure may be required under the Open Records Act.
99-4-17. Attorney General Open Records Decision No. OR99-0978 (4-12-99)[Texas
Juvenile Law 245 (4th Ed. 1996)].
Ms. Heather Silva
Assistant City Attorney
Criminal Law and Police Department
City of Dallas
2014 Main Street, Room 206
Dallas, TX 75201
Dear Ms. Silva:
You ask this office to reconsider our ruling in Open Records Letter No. 99-0007
(1999). Your request for reconsideration was assigned ID# 123875.
The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for
documents relating to a specific juvenile. In Open Records Letter No. 99-0007,
this office concluded in part that the department could not withhold the
requested information as juvenile law enforcement records because the submitted
documents were "not the types of records deemed confidential by section
58.007" of the Family Code. In your request for reconsideration, you
explain that the representative sample the department originally submitted did
not contain the juvenile records. You now ask that we review the submitted
records to determine whether these documents must be withheld under section
552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with 58.007 of the Family Code.
We note that section 552.301 of the Government Code imposes a duty on a
governmental body seeking an open records decision to submit a copy of the
specific information requested or representative samples of that information.
You did not meet your statutory burden under section 552.301(b). However,
because the information is confidential by statute, we will consider the merits
of your original argument against disclosure.
Section 552.101 encompasses confidentiality statutes such as section 58.007 of
the Family Code. Juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that
occurred on or after September 1, 1997 are confidential under section 58.007.
Section 58.007 applies to the records of a child who is ten years of age or
older and under seventeen years of age, or who is seventeen years of age or
older and under eighteen years of age and has engaged in delinquent conduct or
conduct indicating a need for supervision before becoming seventeen years of
age. Fam. Code § 51.02(2). Records relating to such conduct are confidential
under section 58.007 and must be withheld from disclosure under section 552.101
as information made confidential by law. Consequently, Open Records Letter No.
99-0007 (1999) is overruled to the extent it conflicts with this ruling.
If you have any questions about this ruling, please contact our office.
Sincerely,
June B. Harden
Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Division