Complaints/grievances re: CCA's GA Coffee/Jenkins Correctional Centers

Hi, Mr. Lipton. I just now received your request that you say was originally submitted on 9/22/14. Please send any Open Records requests directly to myself or Jamie Vallee (tagged in this email).

You requested the following:

All complaints and formal/informal grievances referencing the following terms (in whole or part) or originating from the following locations:

• Coffee Correctional Facility
• Jenkins Correctional Center
• Wheeler Correctional Facility
If you are referencing grievances filed by inmates, those are part of the inmate’s institutional file. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. §42-5-36(b), “investigation reports and intelligence data prepared by the Internal Investigations Unit of the department are classified as confidential state secrets and privileged under the law…” Therefore, the records you requested are not subject to disclosure under the Open Records Act. O.C.G.A. §50-18-71(a).

If you are referencing lawsuit complaints, we do not have a way to properly search any that may reference those three facilities. We forward all lawsuits to the Georgia Department of Law to handle.

Finally, if you are referencing complaints that are part of an internal investigation, please be advised that pursuant to O.C.G.A. §42-5-36(b), “investigation reports and intelligence data prepared by the Internal Investigations Unit of the department are classified as confidential state secrets and privileged under the law…”

If there is another document you would like to request, please specify that document and we will determine whether the document exists and is subject to the Open Records Act.
Thanks,

Erin

Erin Wright
Assistant Counsel
Georgia Department of Corrections
Office of Legal Services
Office: 478.992.5228
Fax: 478.992.5241
Erin.Wright@gdc.ga.gov<mailto:Erin.Wright@gdc.ga.gov>

Mr. Lipton,

My response is listed below (highlighted), included in the email you forwarded me this morning. Thanks.

Erin

Ms. Litpon,

A list of grievances filed by inmates, which is maintained in our internal database, would still fall under the O.C.G.A. 42-5-36(c) exception, and therefore, is not subject to the Open Records Act.

Thanks,

Erin

September 8, 2015
Department of Corrections
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Office of Legal Services
P.O. Box 1529
Forsyth, Georgia 31029

This is a follow up to a previous request:

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

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On Aug. 24, 2015:
Hello Ms. Wright,

Would I be able to amend this request to the logs of grievances from the two facilities I mentioned or should I resubmit a new request?

Thanks so much,
Beryl
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On July 22, 2015:
Mr. Lipton,

My response is listed below (highlighted), included in the email you forwarded me this morning. Thanks.

Erin
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On July 22, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On July 7, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On June 22, 2015:
Hi, Mr. Lipton. I just now received your request that you say was originally submitted on 9/22/14. Please send any Open Records requests directly to myself or Jamie Vallee (tagged in this email).

You requested the following:

All complaints and formal/informal grievances referencing the following terms (in whole or part) or originating from the following locations:

• Coffee Correctional Facility
• Jenkins Correctional Center
• Wheeler Correctional Facility
If you are referencing grievances filed by inmates, those are part of the inmate’s institutional file. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. §42-5-36(b), “investigation reports and intelligence data prepared by the Internal Investigations Unit of the department are classified as confidential state secrets and privileged under the law…” Therefore, the records you requested are not subject to disclosure under the Open Records Act. O.C.G.A. §50-18-71(a).

If you are referencing lawsuit complaints, we do not have a way to properly search any that may reference those three facilities. We forward all lawsuits to the Georgia Department of Law to handle.

Finally, if you are referencing complaints that are part of an internal investigation, please be advised that pursuant to O.C.G.A. §42-5-36(b), “investigation reports and intelligence data prepared by the Internal Investigations Unit of the department are classified as confidential state secrets and privileged under the law…”

If there is another document you would like to request, please specify that document and we will determine whether the document exists and is subject to the Open Records Act.
Thanks,

Erin

Erin Wright
Assistant Counsel
Georgia Department of Corrections
Office of Legal Services
Office: 478.992.5228
Fax: 478.992.5241
Erin.Wright@gdc.ga.gov<mailto:Erin.Wright@gdc.ga.gov<mailto:Erin.Wright@gdc.ga.gov%3cmailto:Erin.Wright@gdc.ga.gov>>
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On June 18, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On June 3, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On May 19, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On May 4, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On April 17, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On April 2, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On March 9, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Feb. 20, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Feb. 5, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Jan. 21, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Jan. 6, 2015:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Dec. 11, 2014:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Nov. 21, 2014:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Nov. 6, 2014:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Oct. 22, 2014:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

---
On Oct. 7, 2014:
To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 22, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

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On Sept. 22, 2014:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All complaints and formal/informal grievances referencing the following terms (in whole or part) or originating from the following locations:

• Coffee Correctional Facility
• Jenkins Correctional Center
• Wheeler Correctional Facility

Please redact personally identifying information as necessary.

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 look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Beryl C.D. Lipton

Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock
DEPT MR 13531
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
[http://email.requests.muckrock.com/o/eJwNzUkOgzAMQNHTNLtYjmNnWOQCPUC3FZkAFUqFKFJvXxZ_96Rfk4hTcyI0ghHDFSIBMUSxPtwYe3PGusDaFcmaK3edxaLuWbBwtDH3Dp_9PKD-3hvsB0xt315fKNuqpmQpW2KKFD1Sx168td5zi9EHcYzqYutzrsn4QGLUnu7DOjd4DMvS2vUfa4FxgHE7_0sUMCM]