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E S C A M I L L A T R AN S AC T I O N S D I V I S I O N
COUNTY ATTORNEY
JOHN C. HILLE, JR., DIRECTOR
ST EPHE N H. CAPEL LE
F I R S T AS S IS T A NT BARBAR A J. WILSO N
Hand Delivered
Mr. Justin Gordon, Division Chief
Office of the Attorney General of TexasOpen Records Division
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
By copy of this letter, we are informing the requestor that we wish to withhold the
information requested and that we are asking for a decision from your office.
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(A) is prepared by an attorney representing the state
in anticipation of or in the course of preparing
for criminal litigation; or
(c) This section does not except from [required public disclosure]
information that is basic information about an arrested person, an
arrest, or a crime.
In Curry v. Walker, 873 S.W.2d 379 (Tex. 1994), the Texas Supreme Court held
that a request for a county attorneys entire file is necessarily a request for work product
because the decision as to what to include in [the file] necessarily reveals the attorneys
thought processes concerning the prosecution or defense of the case. Curry, 873 S.W.2d
at 380 (quoting National Union Fire Insurance Company v. Valdez, 863 S.W.2d 458, 460
(Tex. 1993, orig. proceeding)).
In this instance, Requestor specifically asks for the contents of the TCAOs entire
file on Trevor Titman, in cause number C-1-CR-14-214858. This case being the only
information the TCAO possesses related to Mr. Titman, we believe that the request
essentially encompasses a request for the TCAOs entire prosecution file for Mr. Titman.
All of the requested information was created or assembled by a prosecutor in anticipation
of or in the course of preparing for criminal litigation. In addition, Curry provides that
the release of the requested information would reveal the mental impressions or legal
reasoning of prosecutors in the TCAO. Accordingly, we believe that the TCAO may
withhold the requested information pursuant to subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) of section
552.108 of the Government Code. We have included representative samples of this
information for your review, marked as Curry.
To the extent that your office finds that Curry is not applicable, we assert in the
alternative that all notes, electronic notes of prosecutors, documents, drafts,
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correspondence, and other internal communications by TCAO prosecutors or TCAO
representatives are excepted from disclosure under subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) because
they were prepared by TCAO or representatives of TCAO in anticipation of or in the
course of preparing for criminal litigation, and also contain the attorneys mental
impressions. We have included representative samples of this information for your
review, marked as Prosecutor Work-Product.
Here, the responsive information to the request may likewise be withheld because
it relates to the investigation and prosecution of a case that has been disposed of without
resulting in a conviction or deferred adjudication. The subject of the request was arrested
for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), however, that charge was not filed by the TCAO.
Therefore, the investigation and prosecution of the charge of DWI did not result in a
conviction or deferred adjudication. Accordingly, we assert that the requested
information as it relates to the investigation and prosecution of cause number C-1-CR-14-
214858 may be withheld under Government Code section 552.108(a)(2). We have
included representative samples of this information for your review, marked as
108(a)(2).
In conclusion, we ask that you rule on whether the enclosed information must be
released to the requestor. If you have any questions, please contact me at (512) 854-9176
or by e-mail at ann-marie.sheely@traviscountytx.gov.
Sincerely,
Ann-Marie Sheely
Assistant County Attorney
c:
John Hennan
812 San Antonio Street, Suite 401
Austin, TX 78701
(via email to: john@hennanlaw.com, without enclosures)
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