Parole Board Applications and Related Info, 8/1/20 to Present

August 23, 2021

Primary RAO (par.rao@state.ma.us)
Massachusetts Parole Board

Primary RAO (valerie.j.mccarthy@state.ma.us)
Massachusetts Governor’s Council

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is a public records request under M.G.L. c. 66, § 10 (the “PR Law”) concerning those public records as described below within the possession, custody, or control of either the Massachusetts Governor’s Council (MA-GC) and/or the Massachusetts Parole Board (MPB), defined to include without limit (i) all MA-GC and/or MPB officers, employees, agents, or representatives, as well as (ii) any third parties or independent contractors that do business with, or provide services to or on behalf of, MA-GC and/or MPB. The PR Law broadly defines “public records” to include “all books, papers, maps, photographs, recorded tapes, financial statements, statistical tabulations, or other documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee” of any Massachusetts governmental entity.[1]

[Footnote 1: To the extent you contend the Governor’s office is exempt from the PR Law (see, e.g., Lambert v. Exec. Dir. of Judicial Nominating Council, 425 Mass. 406, 409 (1997)), such exemption does not apply to either the MPB or the MA-GC (the latter of which is a non-executive advisory body comprised of elected officials). The MA-GC is easily distinguished from the Judicial Nominating Council in Lambert, which council did not hold “any civic or public office” and whose members (unlike the MA-GC) were not elected.]

Please provide the following public records for the period from August 1, 2020, to the present:

1. All public records concerning applications for appointment to the Parole Board, including without limit all public records comprising said applications.
2. All public records containing communications between or among the MA-GC; the MPB; and/or any third party concerning applications for appointment to the Parole Board.

Further clarification of the above requests can be provided upon request.

I also request that any fees incurred in connection with responding to this letter be waived as this request is in the public interest, as suggested in recommendations published by the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. In addition, as stated by the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, “all agencies and municipalities are strongly urged to waive the fees associated with access to public records”. See A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law (updated March 2020) (Galvin, William F., Secretary of the Commonwealth) at 41 (accessed August 19, 2021, at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/preinformation.htm). The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service provided by MuckRock.com and/or processed by a representative of the news media/press. Moreover, the public records requests contained herein are made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

If you withhold some portions of the requested documents on the grounds that they are exempt from disclosure, please specify which exemptions apply and release any portions of the records for which you do not claim an exemption. Please provide the requested records in electronic format to the maximum extent possible. To the extent you contend any of the requested records are not public records or are otherwise exempt from disclosure in response to this request, please take steps to ensure that such records are preserved, and are not modified, deleted, or destroyed, pending review of your contention and the resolution of any resulting dispute.

With respect to the form of production, responsive electronic records should be provided electronically in their native file format, to the maximum extent possible. Paper records may be scanned and provided in static-image format (PDF). Please provide copies of entire correspondence in relevant searches, including all documents or attachments that were included or forwarded. Records should include but not be limited to electronic correspondence transmitted via computer, laptop, mobile phone and/or other electronic devices, and should include without limit any emails in which an employee or other official or agent was the direct recipient, CC recipient, BCC recipient, and/or listserv recipient. All images in any email should be downloaded and viewable before being copied. Please note that custodians of public records must comply with a public records request within ten (10) days of receipt thereof. If you cannot comply with my request within the mandated time frame, you are statutorily required to provide an explanation in writing. Thank you for your anticipated assistance with this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need further clarification concerning any part of this request.

Sincerely,
M. Claire Masinton

Hello. I'm in receipt of what appears to be a partial response to my August 23, 2021 public records request to the MA Parole Board and MA Governor's Council, which response you posted here (on MuckRock.com) earlier today, 10/29/21. However, there don't appear to be any attachements, even though the message purports to be "in response to your public records request, dated 8/23/21, and received by this office on 8/23/21." (The balance of the message simply restates my specific document requests.) Did you mean to include an attachment(s) of some kind? Please note that I've also been in separate email communication with Stacy Book, the Parole Board's Compliance Officer/Records Access Officer, concerning my public records request. Will the responsive documents be produced through that channel, rather than here? Please advise.

Thank you,
M. Claire Masinton