Guidlines/manuals for asset forfieture (Alamance County Sheriff)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to North Carolina Public Records Law (G.S. §§ 132-1 through 132-10), I hereby request the following documents:

-A blank copy of any and all forms that the Sheriff's Department requires its deputies or officers to complete when seizing assets as part of an investigation. This should include any instructions pertinent to that form.

-Any documents laying out guidelines, rules or proper procedures for cases involving asset forfeiture or asset seizure by the sheriff's department. Specifically, I am looking for the Sheriff's Department's guide to properly documenting asset forfeitures/seizures.

As I am a journalist -- employed by MuckRock and the Boston Globe -- a request that all fees be waived. I intend to use any pertinent information I receive as a result of this request to educate the public.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I would request your response within ten (10) business days.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Hello,

I am writing to appeal your decision to close my public records request on the grounds that it was too vague.

Common public records procedure dictates two ways to request documents that constitute an adequately detailed description. The first method is to request a document by its specific title, header, or filing number. The second method is to describe the circumstances under which the document was created.

I am not required by the North Carolina Public Records Law (G.S. §§ 132-1 through 132-10) to provide you with the title, header or document number that the Sheriff's Department uses to keep track of its own documents.

I believe I have, however, more than adequately described the circumstances under which the documents I requested were created. I asked specifically for the department's guidelines or rules for documenting seized or forfeited assets. This should not be particularly difficult to locate. If the department has guidelines/rules for documenting seizures and forfeitures, presumably the people who handle seized and forfeited assets will know where the guidelines/rules are.

If the department does not have any guidelines/rules for documenting seizures or forfeitures that is an entirely different matter, and your rejection of my request should have been based on the grounds that there the Sheriff's Department does not possess documents responsive to my request.

Please either resume your search for the requested documents or notify me that they are not in your department's possession.

Thank you,
Todd Feathers

Mr. Albright,

I write in response to your May 14 letter in which you again denied my request for the internal rules or guidelines for the Alamance County Sheriff's Department's asset forfeiture program.

In your letter, you repeat earlier assertions that my request was "too broad in scope" and "Records of criminal investigations are not public records."

As I stated in my last letter, I fail to see how I could have been more specific in my request. The North Carolina Public Records Law does not require a requester to provide the agency's internal reference number for the requested document or the exact title of the requested document. I am not a member of the Alamance County Sheriff's Department, and so I do not know the terminology by which the department references the documents I requested. That fact should not preclude me from access to the records, and it would be illegal to deny me access on those grounds.

I have adequately described the records I seek, to the extent that a person with knowledge of the department can reasonably find them. As I said in my last letter, whoever is processing this public records request need only ask the person(s) who oversee the Alamance County Sheriff's Department's asset forfeiture program if they have any internal training material or guidelines pertaining to asset forfeiture.

That does not, in my opinion, constitute an unreasonable request. It will not require extensive man hours to ask that question and receive a response.

In regards to your other rationale for denying my request -- that ""Records of criminal investigations are not public records" -- the records I have requested do not pertain to specific criminal investigations. The documents I requested are guidelines for the department's employees, not case files, so the exemption you cited does not apply to this request.

Please conduct an adequate search for the documents I requested. If you choose to deny my request again, please provide me with the mailing address and name of the agency that handles public records request appeals for your department so that i may initiate a formal appeals process.

Thank you.

Hello,

Please respond to my May 23 letter appealing your denial of my public records request regarding asset forfeiture manuals and blank asset forfeiture receipt forms. If you do not choose to change your decision and supply me with the requested public records, then please send me the contact information for the individual or agency that handles appeals of public records request denials for your department.

Todd Feathers
608-698-5806

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 7, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 7, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.