LEADERSHIP
CHIEF COUNSEL ’ S CORNER
Richard A . Carothers General Counsel Carothers & Mitchell , LLC
OPEN RECORDS ACT COMPLIANCE | A BRIEF REVIEW
Law enforcement actions remain the subject of national scrutiny . This scrutiny manifests itself in many ways , and open records requests under Georgia law are front and center as a significant source of information for both the media and the public . There is probably not a member of this organization that is not currently experiencing the effects of these inquiries . Customary and necessary law enforcement actions such as traffic stops , arrests , searches , and all aspects of the use of force are necessary to accomplish an officer ’ s duties and responsibilities . These result in the creation of numerous records including traffic citations , incident reports , arrest reports , 911 calls , radio traffic , vehicle cams and bodycams , photographs and tapes . The records also include the related personnel records , training records , policies , procedures , and disciplinary files .
And by whom are these requests being made ? They include persons involved in accidents , interested members of the public , advocacy groups interested in law enforcement issues , attorneys involved in investigations for civil and criminal actions , and of course , the media . And as we know , the media now encompasses print , electronic , and data-gathering organizations and traditional print media which often post our documents on their websites in real time . There are accounts of law enforcement agencies receiving open records requests for documents relating to an incident that is actually taking place at the time of the request .
At the end of the day , we are in possession of a vast amount of public records that increase daily and interested parties desire to obtain , and if there is no specific statutory exemption to producing them , they are entitled to receive them in accordance with the disclosure requirements and strict time frames in the Open Records Act . I trust that many of you are waiting for me to tell you something that you don ’ t already know . Your positions in law enforcement require you to have significant knowledge and experience with regard to these issues and what is required to comply with the Act . In fact , there is a vast amount of information available concerning the Georgia Open Records Act and compliance therewith . Notwithstanding that significant knowledge , we receive almost daily inquiries about compliance issues . It is my purpose herein to simply review some of the important basics .
There are many questions that arise within most agencies in the open records process . The agencies are frustrated when the requestors want a report that it does not have , or they ask questions along with document requests . The following are some fundamental general principles of production , a number of which have been subjects of questions recently .
• If the requested records exist , they are subject to the Act and must be produced .
• If the access to a record is declined based upon an exemp-
10 FALL . 2020