Delaware newspaper wins access to repeat-offender records
By The Associated Press
10.04.02
WILMINGTON, Del. — A newspaper seeking to investigate how Delaware's courts handle cases of repeat offenders is entitled to some, but not all, of the government computer records it wants, a judge ruled this week.
Superior Court Judge William L. Witham Jr. said The (Wilmington) News Journal was entitled to information that would enable it to recognize repeat offenders within raw data maintained by the Delaware Justice Information System.
State officials maintained the newspaper could deduce offenders' identities if given the information, raising privacy concerns. Witham disagreed and ruled that the newspaper should be given the information.
But Witham ruled the newspaper is not entitled to computerized records on cases that don't end in convictions, records involving minors, records on the location of an arrest or those that identify police, parole or probation officers.
The newspaper has spent nearly four years in court trying to get the data from the state Department of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act.
Witham's decision came after he heard several days of testimony this spring in Kent County, and follows a state board's decision early last year to provide a decade's worth of computerized criminal records.
Attorney General M. Jane Brady said Oct. 2 that Witham's decision was a victory for the state Justice Department, since its main concerns were protecting the privacy of police officers and people whose arrests did not end in convictions.
"We're very satisfied with the ruling," Brady said. "I think it achieves the proper balance and conforms with the law."
Executive Editor Deborah Henley said the newspaper was pleased that Witham affirmed the media's role in monitoring the criminal justice system and keeping public officials accountable. Newspaper executives are reviewing the opinion. Henley would not say whether there are plans to appeal.
"While we had hoped that nonconviction data would be included, the ability to link the cases of repeat offenders is an important success and is crucial to analyzing the system's performance," she said.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Virginia-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said nonconviction information was key to a meaningful analysis of the system.
"If you arrest three times as many people as who get convicted, you may have overzealous cops," she said.
Richard G. Elliott Jr., the newspaper's attorney, agreed that the lack of such information would curtail the newspaper's ability to assess, for example, how many cases prosecutors are losing and how many public defenders are winning.
In 1997, the newspaper unsuccessfully sought 10 years' worth of misdemeanor and felony computer records to analyze for stories on how well the justice system is working.
Newspaper officials have said they are not interested in identifying offenders or victims, but wanted raw data to look for trends. The newspaper has been willing to sign a written agreement with state officials outlining how the information would be used, something Witham ordered in his decision.
Witham noted the newspaper made substantial attempts to eliminate items in its data request that could be used to identify individuals.
The board of directors of the Delaware Justice Information System voted last year to give the newspaper much of what it wanted.
Access to the database has been a campaign issue in the attorney general's race. Democrat Carl Schnee and Green Party candidate Vivian Houghton have said they favored public access to the database.