Question about request: Additional request for documents no obtained from the original request for Police documents of the 1993 murder of 4 yr old Alicia K. Ruff
Asked by Codefore Publishing on August 20, 2015.
3 answers from Codefore Publishing and Jack R-W.
Related requestBeen working on this thing for months. Kauai is just refusing to give out public information. They tell me to appeal, but I suspect that its just a tool for them to move the issue from one of their offices to another. Any suggestions? They obviously dont want to tell me who is doing the redaction because the redactions are part of a cover-up.
It seems weird that they just brushed you off like that. It might be a good idea to request the processing notes for your request, as they might shed some light on why you are being stonewalled. Also, just curious, which federal law do you think they are violating? The federal FOIA specifically doesn’t apply to the states, fyi.
Hi Jack, thank you for your interest. Since your reply there has been more activity on this request. I’m not sure what “notes” you are referring to or how to get them.
Yes I am aware that the Federal FOIA law does not apply to states but Hawaii has been good to us by enacting their own FOIA law. Since they have done this and since I have applied for information in compliance with this law (three times) and since they have refused to comply with their own law by redacting outside of their own guide lines and by failing to provide only partial compliance by producing incomplete documents and most important of all, refusing to reveal the identity of those who participated in providing my request.
All that being said, I believe their actions or in-actions have moved this whole procedure out of the legal realm of Hawaii and into the legal realm of the United States Justice Department. My assertion is based on the following.
“(a) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. (b) Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.” (My question is what does “Any Officer of the United States” or “any public office” mean.)
If a person believes that the failure to provide all this information is the result of an effort to hide, distort etc: information that would normally be available under the umbrella of the Hawaii Freedom of Information Act, and that this effort ( in fact is now an act, ) has and is being orchestrated by a number of Kauai public servants, including the Police Department this whole thing may be subject to the Federal Organized Crime And Racketeering Act.
There is one more Federal Law that applies in as much as the Kauai Police Department’s involvement in this. This law is the 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law which states: “Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.”
This is why the names of people involved in providing this information has been asked for and denied (twice). The reason for not providing information on a case file this old can only be to cover up illegal acts. And this refusal only furthers ones belief that this is an effort to conceal by numerous persons and since the original information requested is from a 1993 Murder case that has been cleared by arrest, the numbers of culpable people could be substantial.
Thank you
Jim Benish