Title
Hearing on Sunshine Ordinance Complaint Filed By Scott Morris on May 12, 2020
Body
To: Honorable Members of the Open Government Commission
From: Olson Remcho, LLP, Special Counsel to the Commission
Background
A. The Complaint
Complainant Scott Morris alleges that the Alameda City Attorney's Office and Alameda Police Department improperly denied his request for documents under the California Public Records Act, Cal. Gov. Code ? 6540, et seq. and the City of Alameda's Sunshine Ordinance (Mun. Code ? 2-92 et seq.).
On April 15, 2020, Mr. Morris submitted a request seeking identified items of information for every person arrested by the city police from February 1, 2020 to April 15, 2020:
The full name and occupation of every individual arrested by the agency, the individual's physical description including the date of birth, color of eyes and hair, sex, height and weight, the time and date of arrest, the time and date of booking, the location of the arrest, the factual circumstances surrounding the arrest, the amount of bail set, the time and manner of release or the location where the individual is currently being held, and all charges the individual is being held upon, including any outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions and parole or probation holds.
Exhibit A (S. Morris OGC Complaint,
May 12, 2020).
B. The City's Actions
The City completed its production of all records responsive to Mr. Morris's request on May 13, 2020, less than a month after receiving Mr. Morris's request. In total, Mr. Morris received three productions of documents. Exhibit B (Email from A. Cohen to S. Morris, April 27, 2020) (first production); Exhibit C (Email from A. Cohen to S. Morris, May 12, 2020) (second production); Exhibit D (Email from A. Cohen to S. Morris, May 13, 2020) (third production). Although the City Attorney's Office initially informed Mr. Morris that some of the information he sought was exempt from disclosure (see Exhibit B), the City none...
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