Mitchell v. Slade

Summary

The court modified and otherwise affirmed an order granting a CPLR article 78 petition under New York's Freedom of Information Law. It held that specified police follow-up reports were not exempt from disclosure under the law-enforcement or intra-agency exemptions, but that the agency was not required to consult with the petitioner to help identify additional documents because the petitioner bears the burden of reasonably describing the requested records.

Holdings

1. On the in camera record, the materials were not exempt from disclosure under Public Officers Law § 87(2)(e) or § 87(2)(g), subject to appropriate redaction.
2. FOIL does not require an agency to solicit additional information from a requester to enable the agency to identify documents possibly responsive to the request; the requester bears the burden of reasonably describing the documents sought.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the DD-5 arrest follow-up report and related materials were exempt from disclosure under the FOIL law-enforcement and intra-agency exemptions.
2. Whether FOIL required the Police Department to solicit additional information from the petitioner to assist in locating documents potentially responsive to his request.

Disposition

modified