Complaints re: Lake Erie/Northeast Ohio/Queensgate Facilities
| Submitted | July 24, 2014 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Ohio Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
All complaints filed with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction referencing the following terms (in whole or part) or originating from the following locations:
- Lake Erie Correctional Instituion (Conneaut, Ohio)
- Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (Youngstown, Ohio)
- Queensgate Correctional Facility (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Corrections Corporation of America
- CCA
- GEO Group
- Management and Training Corporation
- MTC
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. Please do not hesitate to contact me if clarification is needed.
Sincerely,
Beryl C.D. Lipton
From: Smith, JoEllen
Thank you for your email. I will send your request to legal for review.
From: Smith, JoEllen
Hello,
Your request, which asks for “All complaints filed with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction,” is overly broad because it does not provide enough information to allow us to identify responsive correspondence based on the manner in which this office organizes and accesses public records. “[I]t is the responsibility of the person who wishes to inspect and/or copy records to identify with reasonable clarity the records at issue.” State ex rel. Glasglow v. Jones, 119 Ohio St.3d 391, 2008-Ohio-4788, ¶ 17, quoting State ex rel. Morgan v. New Lexington, 112 Ohio St.3d 33 (additional citations omitted).
Your request does not identify a specific record.
Thank you.
From: Beryl Lipton
Hello Ms. Smith,
Thank you so much for your prompt response! I apologize for my inquiry's lack of specificity, and I hope you can help me more clearly identify what I am looking for, since I would like to make the search process as painless for you as possible; I simply am not familiar with the manner in which such documents are organized in your office.
If you have procedures for the management of complaints received by the DRC and could provide them to me, I would appreciate that and could use them to narrow my request. Additionally, if you have a copy of the DRC's record retention schedule and/or any other such list of required/available records, that would be a useful tool for me to frame this and future requests.
Thank you so much for your help. I hope the day is lovely.
Best wishes,
Beryl C.D. Lipton
From: Smith, JoEllen
Hello,
I wanted to try to clarify this request.
Lake Erie Correctional Institution is the only entity listed that is subject to the jurisdiction of ODRC. We do not maintain a class of records categorized as “complaints.”
If you could provide some context that would better define what you are seeking, (complaints by whom, to whom, regarding what subject matter or aspect of operation is at issue, etc.) we would be better able to identify responsive documents.
DRC's records retention schedule is attached, and you can find the state retention schedule on the Department of Administrative Services website.
Thank you.
JoEllen Smith
From: Beryl Lipton
Hello Ms. Smith,
I'm interested in all complaints relating to Lake Erie Correctional Institution (I assume Northeast and Queensgate are under BOP's jurisdiction?) from both employees and inmates (present/past). I understand this may still be too broad. Would it be possible to search in ADEX-0001, 0002 (including initial requests, not simply final reviews), 0027, 0028, 0031 for mentions of LECI? Would other "complaints" be associated with prisoner files?
Thank you so much for your help!
Beryl C.D. Lipton
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 24, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thank you for your help.
From: Smith, JoEllen
Hello,
I am currently out of the office and will return Wednesday, August 27. If you need immediate assistance please contact Scott Flowers at 614-752-1150.
Thank you.
________________________________
Please note that an e-mail message, or a portion thereof, may be releasable as a public record in accordance with Chapter 149 of the Ohio Revised Code.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 24, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thank you for your help.
From: Smith, JoEllen
Hello,
DRC's legal staff has determined this request is still overbroad. Please narrow your request to specific dates and subject matter.
Inmate grievances are inmate records and as such are not public records ORC 5120.21, ORC 149.43.
"ADEX 1000" is a reference to DRC retention schedule. That is not a searchable dataset.
Thank you.
JoEllen Smith
From: Beryl Lipton
Hello Ms. Smith,
Thank you for your help. I will withdraw this request and make separate, more narrow requests.
Thanks again!
Beryl
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