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THEODORE R. KULONGOSKI THOMAS A. BALMER
ATTORNEY GENERAL DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Richard J. Sterling, SID #8970821
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution
2500 Westgate
Pendleton, OR 97801
1162 Court Street NE
Justice Building
Salem, Oregon 97310
Telephone: (503) 378-4400
TDD: (503) 378-5938
June 5, 1996
Re: Petition for Public Records Disclosure Order -
Oregon Department of Corrections Records
Dear Mr. Sterling:
This letter is the Attorney General's order on your petition for disclosure of records
under the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 to 192.505. Your petition, which we
received on May 22, 1996,11 asks the Attorney General to direct the Oregon Department of
Corrections (ODOC) to make available to you for inspection or produce copies of the
following records:
1. Any and all medical records received from Florida's D.O.C. Lake
Butler Medical Reception Center that are in the name of Richard J.
Brooks * * * . "
For the reasons that follow, we respectfully deny your petition.
The Public Records Law confers a right to access any public record of a public body
in Oregon, subject to certain exemptions and limitations. See ORS 192.420. The law
requires generally that the custodian of public records furnish proper and reasonable
opportunities for inspection and/or copying of the record in the office of the custodian. ORS
192.430. Any person denied the right to inspect or to receive a copy of any public record of
a state agency may petition the Attorney General to review the public record to determine if
it may be withheld from public inspection. ORS 192.450(1).
11 We appreciate your courtesy in extending the time for our issuance of the order in this matter.
Richard J. Sterling
Page 2
June 5, 1996
Your petition states that you asked to inspect and/or copy the public records listed in
your petition above on a number of occasions with various ODOC employees, but that your
request was ultimately denied by Catherine Knox, ODOC's Administrator for Health
Services.
We have discussed your petition with Ms. Knox. She advises us that since the filing
of your petition, ODOC Health Services Division staff have determined that the Florida
Department of Corrections has expressly authorized redisclosure of the requested records to
others with your written consent. Ms. Knox informs us that because the Florida Department
of Corrections has authorized ODOC to redisclose the requested records to you, ODOC
Health Services Division staff at EOCI have now provided you with copies of those records.
Because we understand from Ms. Knox that you have now been provided with copies
of the requested records, we deny your petition as moot.
NV:AV:jvv:cfs/JGGODCCE
c: Catherine Knox, Administrator
Health Services, Oregon Department of Corrections
Lynda Bronson, Health Services Manager
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution
Sincerely,
~_,x/Xlar_~
ELIZABETH S. HARCHENKO
Special Counsel to the Attorney General
