Fusion Center MOUs + MOAs (Ohio State Highway Patrol)
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
PRR-18-001780 |
| Multi Request | Fusion Center MOUs + MOAs |
| Submitted | July 1, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Ohio Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
Copies of the current or most recent memorandum of agreement (MOA) or memorandum of understanding (MOU) between your law enforcement agency and any fusion centers.
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the Internet Archive and MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.
As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, 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 10 business days.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
From: Ohio State Highway Patrol
Emma,
See the attached PDF. Thanks.
Bradley Shaw
OSHP PAU
Public Information Specialist
614-752-2792
From: Ohio State Highway Patrol
Ms. Best - please find attached the Ohio Department of Public Safety's response to your July 2, 2018, public records request.
P.R. Casey IV
Associate Legal Counsel
Ohio Department of Public Safety
1970 West Broad Street, Suite 531
Columbus, Ohio 43223
prcasey@dps.ohio.gov<mailto:prcasey@dps.ohio.gov>
main: (614) 466-7014
direct: (614) 728-9423
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From: Emma North-Best
I am appealing the determination that I didn't specify what records are sought, but rather what information. The original request was more than specific enough, specifying MOUs and MOAs relating to a very particular topic. Requesters' inability to identify the precise physical location of a record is not the same as failing to describe it reasonably.
From: Ohio State Highway Patrol
Ms. Best,
On July 5, 2018, I responded on behalf of the Ohio Department of Public Safety (DPS) to your July 2 public records request. I denied your request for "[c]opies of the current or most recent memorandum of agreement (MOA) or memorandum of understanding (MOU) between your law enforcement agency and any fusion center," due to overbreadth, but offered to engage with you to narrow your overly broad request.
It appears that in response to my July 5 letter, you mailed a letter to the Office of the Ohio Attorney General seeking to "appeal" the denial of your July 2 request. The Attorney General has no jurisdiction over your original request, and therefore, your letter was forwarded back to my attention at DPS.
Please note, the Ohio Public Records Act provides no right to appeal the denial of a records request. The law does require the public entity, that has specifically denied a request for overbreadth, to offer to work with the requestor to narrow the request so that the desired records can potentially be located. At the end of my July 5 response I did suggest that you could narrow your request by clarifying what "law enforcement agency" you were referencing. Furthermore, I closed my letter by stating you could contact me to discuss how you could narrow the request.
In summary, DPS's decision to deny your July 2 request due to overbreadth stands but you are still free to attempt to narrow your request or contact ne for assistance in narrowing.
P.R. Casey IV
Associate Legal Counsel
Ohio Department of Public Safety
1970 West Broad Street, Suite 531
Columbus, Ohio 43223
prcasey@dps.ohio.gov<mailto:prcasey@dps.ohio.gov>
main: (614) 466-7014
direct: (614) 728-9423
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