Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. v. State

2005 ME 56, 871 A.2d 523, 33 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1616, 2005 Me. LEXIS 56
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedApril 22, 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 2005 ME 56 (Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. v. State, 2005 ME 56, 871 A.2d 523, 33 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1616, 2005 Me. LEXIS 56 (Me. 2005).

Opinions

Majority: DANA, CALKINS, and LEVY, JJ.

Concurrence: SAUFLEY, C.J.

Dissent: CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, and ALEXANDER, JJ.

Dissent: ALEXANDER, J.

LEVY, J.

[¶ 1] This case requires us to address the unique nature of investigatory records held by a government prosecutor and the circumstances in which those records must be disclosed pursuant to Maine’s Freedom of Access Act (FOAA), 1 M.R.S.A. §§ 401-410 (1989 & Supp.2004).

[¶ 2] Blethen Maine Newspapers requested Maine’s Attorney General to disclose investigative records related to allegations of sexual abuse by eighteen deceased Roman Catholic priests. The Attorney General ultimately denied the request based on his conclusion that “disclosure of the investigative records relating to the deceased priests would ‘constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy’ within the meaning of 16 M.R.S.A. § 614 [ (Supp.2004) ] of the Criminal History Record Information Act.” Blethen sought judicial review of the Attorney General’s decision pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 80B, and the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Studstrup, J.) vacated the Attorney General’s denial of the request and ordered full disclosure of the records. We affirm the court’s judgment to the extent that it ordered the disclosure of the records, but conclude that the court should have also ordered the records redacted so as to eliminate the names and other identifying information of the living persons who are cited in the records. We therefore vacate the judgment and remand for further proceedings so that the records will be subject to redaction before their disclosure.

I. CASE HISTORY

[¶ 3] Blethen, the publisher of several Maine newspapers, filed a FOAA request with the Attorney General in June 2002 seeking records pertaining to the Attorney General’s investigation of alleged sexual [526]*526abuse by eighteen deceased priests. FOAA prescribes that, “[ejxcept as otherwise provided by statute, every person has the right to inspect and copy any public record.” 1 M.R.S.A. § 408(1) (Supp.2004). It also provides that “[rjecords that have been designated confidential by statute” are an exception to the definition of “public records” and are not subject to disclosure. 1 M.R.S.A. § 402(3)(A) (Supp.2004).

[¶ 4] The Attorney General denied Blethen’s request, having concluded that the records were exempt from disclosure under FOAA because they were confidential pursuant to the Criminal History Record Information Act, 16 M.R.S.A. §§ 611— 622 (1983 & Supp.2004). The Act provides, in pertinent part:

Reports or records that contain intelligence and investigative information and that are prepared by, prepared at the direction of or kept in the custody of a ... county[,J ... criminal justice agency ... [or] the Department of the Attorney General ... are confidential and may not be disseminated if there is a reasonable possibility that public release or inspection of the reports or records would:
A. Interfere with law enforcement proceedings; or
C. Constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy[.J

16 M.R.S.A. § 61400(A), (C).

[¶ 5] The Attorney General concluded that release of the records would both interfere with law enforcement proceedings and constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of the victims, the deceased priests, and the priests’ families and congregations.1 In response, Blethen suggested that the State redact portions of the records, noting that “[i]t would defeat the purposes of the right to know law if an otherwise public record could be withheld merely because some portion of that record is appropriately confidential.” The Attorney General denied this request as well.

[¶ 6] Blethen sought judicial review of the Attorney General’s action by filing an appeal with the Superior Court pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 80B. The court affirmed the Attorney General’s decision in part, finding that disclosure of information contained in the records might affect ongoing investigations and that, pursuant to section 614(1)(A), it was reasonably possible that disclosure of the information would interfere with law enforcement proceedings. The court did not determine whether there was a reasonable possibility that disclosure would also constitute an “unwarranted in[527]*527vasion of personal privacy” pursuant to section 614(1)(C), but retained jurisdiction of the matter. The court ordered the State to report “the status of the documents in question for law enforcement purposes” to it and Blethen in six months so that it could revisit the privacy question once the ongoing investigations were concluded.

[¶ 7] The Attorney General subsequently reported to the court and Blethen that the investigations would no longer be negatively affected by disclosure of the records related to the deceased priests. However, the Attorney General requested that the parties be afforded the opportunity to brief the second issue: whether the records remained confidential pursuant to section 614(l)(C)’s “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” exception.

[¶8] After the parties’ submission of their briefs and a nontestimonial hearing, the court issued its decision in which it analyzed the records pursuant to section 614(1)(C) and concluded that they should be fully disclosed. The court found that “there may be some residual privacy interest of named victims and witnesses, but due to the manner in which this information has been handled, that interest has been reduced for purposes of balancing against the public interest in disclosure.” With respect to the deceased priests, the court concluded it need not decide whether they have any residual privacy rights because the public interest in disclosure of the records outweighs any personal privacy rights.

[¶ 9] The court concluded that the privacy interests of the alleged victims and witnesses, and the residual privacy interests of the deceased priests, if any, were exceeded by the public’s interest in disclosure of the information because it pertained to possible criminal activity and the extent to which those activities were investigated by public officials: “[A]ny residual personal privacy rights which could be claimed for those named in any capacity in the documents ... must bend to the public interest and no exceptions to release of these public documents exist under the FOAA.” The court also declined to require redaction of the names of the alleged victims and other identifying information because of “how much information would have to be taken out and the extent to which this information is likely already known, at least at a local level.” The State appeals from the judgment.

II. DISCUSSION

[¶ 10] The State asserts that the court erred in ordering the release of the records because there is a reasonable possibility that public disclosure will constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of the alleged victims, witnesses, and deceased priests identified in the records. Accordingly, the State contends that the records must remain confidential pursuant to 16 M.R.S.A. § 614(1)(C). We review the Superior Court’s factual findings for clear error and its determinations of law, including the construction of FOAA, de novo. Town of Burlington v. Hosp. Admin. Dist. No. 1, 2001 ME 59, ¶¶ 12, 22, 769 A.2d 857, 861, 865.

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Bluebook (online)
2005 ME 56, 871 A.2d 523, 33 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1616, 2005 Me. LEXIS 56, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blethen-maine-newspapers-inc-v-state-me-2005.