MMIW Cases
| Submitted | Oct. 27, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Sovereign Bodies Institute
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act, I hereby request the following records:
Data on all cases of deaths in custody involving an Alaska Native/American Indian woman or girl victim within your jurisdiction(s). For the purposes of this request, "Alaska Native/American Indian" is defined as any individual who was identified as a member of an Alaska Native or American Indian community or as having Alaska Native/American Indian heritage. "Woman or girl" includes all victims identified as females, as well as transgender women. We are requesting cases dating from 1900 to the present.
This request is for basic information on cases as classified above. Such information may include but is not limited to victim name, location and date of disappearance/death, age of victim, status of case (solved or unsolved).
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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Annita Lucchesi
From: Department of Corrections
Dear Ms. Lucchesi,
This email acknowledges receipt by the Department of Corrections of your written request for records under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law (RTKL). Your request was received by this office on October 29, 2018. Therefore, under the RTKL, a written response to your request is due on or before November 5, 2018. This response is provided pursuant to that requirement. This response is an interim response to your request. A final response will be sent at a later time as outlined below.
You are hereby notified that, for the reason set forth below, the Department will require an additional 30 calendar days, i.e. until December 5, 2018, in which to provide a final written response to your request:
* A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record requested is subject to access under the Act.
At this time, the Department is unable to provide you with an estimated cost to fulfill your current request if it is granted. Any actual or estimated fees will be identified in the Department's future response.
Sincerely,
Andrew Filkosky | Agency Open Records Officer
Department of Corrections | Office of Chief Counsel
1920 Technology Parkway
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Phone: 717.728.7770 | Fax: 717.728.0312
www.cor.pa.gov<http://www.cor.pa.gov>
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION
ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any use of this information other than by the intended recipient is prohibited. If you receive this message in error, please send a reply e-mail to the sender and delete the material from any and all computers. Unintended transmissions shall not constitute waiver of the attorney-client or any other privilege.
-
~WRD000
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Pennsylvania Right to Know Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 27, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Pennsylvania Right to Know Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 27, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Corrections
Dear Ms. Lucchesi,
This response acknowledges receipt by the Department of Corrections of your written request for records under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law (RTKL). Your request was received by this office on October 29, 2018. The following is the information you requested:
Data on all cases of deaths in custody involving an Alaska Native/American Indian woman or girl victim within your jurisdiction(s). For the purposes of this request, "Alaska Native/American Indian" is defined as any individual who was identified as a member of an Alaska Native or American Indian community or as having Alaska Native/American Indian heritage. "Woman or girl" includes all victims identified as females, as well as transgender women. We are requesting cases dating from 1900 to the present.
You are denied access to the above information that you are seeking for the following reason:
* The record(s) that you requested do not currently exist. When responding to a request for access, an agency is not required to create a record which does not currently exist or to compile, format or organize a public record in a manner in which it does not currently compile, format or organize the public record. 65 P.S. ยง 67.705; See Moore v. Office of Open Records, 992 A.2d 907, 909 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2010)("The Department cannot grant access to a record that does not exist. Because under the current RTKL the Department cannot be made to create a record which does not exist, the OOR properly denied [the] ... appeal."); See also Bargeron v. Department of Labor and Industry, 720 A.2d 500 (Pa.Cmwlth. 1998). See also McGowan v. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 103 A.3d 374, 382-83 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2014) ("In the absence of any competent evidence that the agency acted in bad faith or that the agency records exist, "the averments in the [d]epartment's affidavits should be accepted as true.").
You have a right to appeal this denial of information in writing to the Executive Director, Office of Open Records (OOR), 333 Market Street, 16th Floor, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101. If you choose to file an appeal you must do so within 15 business days of the mailing date of this response and send to the OOR:
1) this response; 2) your request; and 3) the reason why you think the agency is wrong in its reasons for saying that the record is not public (a statement that addresses any ground stated by the agency for the denial). If the agency gave several reasons why the record is not public, state which ones you think were wrong.
Also, the OOR has an appeal form available on the OOR website at:
http://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/Forms.cfm.
Sincerely,
Andrew Filkosky | Agency Open Records Officer
Department of Corrections | Office of Chief Counsel
1920 Technology Parkway
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Phone: 717.728.7770 | Fax: 717.728.0312
www.cor.pa.gov<http://www.cor.pa.gov>
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION
ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any use of this information other than by the intended recipient is prohibited. If you receive this message in error, please send a reply e-mail to the sender and delete the material from any and all computers. Unintended transmissions shall not constitute waiver of the attorney-client or any other privilege.
-
~WRD000