Department of Public Safety v. Freedom of Information Commission
Department of Public Safety v. Freedom of Information Commission
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from the trial court's judgment affirming an order of the freedom of information commission (commission).
The trial court found the following facts. The defendant Edward A. Peruta made written and oral requests for copies of accident reports on April 3, 1989, at the state police Troop H barracks in Hartford. Peruta was told that the records would be available only at the reports and records division in Meriden. When Peruta made his request at the reports and records division, giving the date and time of each of the seven accidents for which he sought reports, he was informed that he
On April 5, 1989, Peruta complained by letter to the commission that the department of public safety was denying him access to public records. The commission held a hearing on August 29, 1989, and issued its final decision on February 23, 1990. The commission concluded that the plaintiffs had violated General Statutes § 1-19 (a)
“Judicial review of [an administrative agency’s] actions is governed by the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act [General Statutes §§ 4-166 through 4-189], and the scope of that review is very restricted.” Lawrence v. Kozlowski, 171 Conn. 705, 707, 372 A.2d 110 (1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 969, 97 S. Ct. 2930, 53 L. Ed. 2d 1066 (1977). “ ‘ “The court’s ultimate duty is only to decide whether, in light of the evidence, the [agency] has acted unreasonably, arbitrarily, illegally, or in abuse of [its] discretion.” . . .’ ” New Haven v. Freedom of Information Commission, 205 Conn. 767, 773, 535 A.2d 1297 (1988), quoting Burnham v. Administrator, 184 Conn. 317, 322, 439 A.2d 1008 (1981). Having reviewed the record in this case, we conclude that the commission properly exercised its authority, and that the trial court correctly dismissed the appeal.
As our Supreme Court stated in Superintendent of Police v. Freedom of Information Commission, 222 Conn. 621, 626, 609 A.2d 998 (1992): “[T]here is an ‘overarching policy’ underlying the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) favoring the disclosure of public records. . . . Our construction of the FOIA must be guided by the policy favoring disclosure and exceptions to disclosure must be narrowly construed.” (Citations omitted.) The information in question here is contained in routine automobile accident reports which, the plaintiffs conceded in the trial court, are public records and
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The named defendant in this appeal is the freedom of information commission. Edward A. Peruta, who brought a complaint against the plaintiffs before the commission, is a codefendant.
The plaintiffs are the division of state police and the state police reports and records division, and the commanding officers of those divisions. The state police are within the state department of public safey.
General Statutes § 1-19 (a) provides: “Except as otherwise provided by any federal law or state statute, all records maintained or kept on file by any public agency, whether or not such records are required by any law or by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person shall have the right to inspect such records promptly during regular office or business hours or to receive a copy of such records in accordance with the provisions of section 1-15. Any agency rule or regulation or part thereof, that conflicts with the provisions of this subsection or diminishes or curtails in any way the rights granted by this subsection shall be void. Each such agency shall keep and maintain all public records in its custody at its regular office or place of business in an accessible place and, if there is no such office or place of business, the public records pertaining to such agency shall be kept in the office of the clerk of the political subdivision in which such public agency is located or of the secretary of the state, as the case may be. Any certified record hereunder attested as a true copy by the clerk, chief or deputy of such agency or by such other person designated or empowered by law to so act, shall be competent evidence in any court of this state of the facts contained therein. Each such agency shall make, keep and maintain a record of the proceedings of its meetings.
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