21-IB07 3/24/21 FOIA Opinion Letter to Kathy Hughes re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Delaware State Police
Petitioner alleged that the Delaware State Police (“DSP”) improperly denied her request for a criminal complaint.
DECIDED: The DSP did not violate FOIA, as the investigatory files exemption applies to the criminal complaint.
21-IB06 3/8/21 FOIA Opinion Letter to Xerxes Wilson re: FOIA Complaint Concerning City of Wilmington
Petitioner alleged that that the City of Wilmington improperly denied his request for investigatory records related to a fire in Wilmington. The cause of the fire was not determined, and the investigation was marked undetermined/closed. The investigator reserved the ability to modify the investigative conclusion if new evidence was discovered.
DECIDED: The City did not violate FOIA by denying access to these records, as the City verified the records pertain to investigatory files for criminal law enforcement and this exemption applies even after the investigation is closed.
21-IB05 3/5/21 FOIA Opinion Letter to Jordan Howell re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Department of State
Petitioner alleged that the Department of State violated FOIA by failing to provide certain records responsive to his request for conference materials.
DECIDED: As the Department verified that the specific records requested do not exist, no FOIA violation was found.
21-IB04 3/1/2021 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Craig O’Donnell re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Delaware City
Petitioner alleged that Delaware City violated FOIA by improperly responding to FOIA requests for its community center financial records, its FOIA log, and request for a lease agreement, including the following: 1) ) whether the responses from the City to Petitioner’s Community Center requests were timely and responsive in terms of its level of detail; 2) whether the City violated FOIA by failing to maintain its FOIA log and by erroneously marking the Community Center requests on the log as closed; 3) whether the City’s response to Petitioner’s request for an agreement was untimely, incomplete, and improperly designated as complete on the FOIA log; 4) whether the City’s request to fill out a certain form violated FOIA; and 5) whether certain aspects of the City’s FOIA website were improper, including the FOIA Coordinator information, the availability of multiple request forms, and the .pdf form not being a “fillable” document.
DECIDED: No FOIA violation was found, but the City was reminded to properly maintain its FOIA log, to accept FOIA requests as provided by the FOIA statute, and to timely update its FOIA Coordinator information.
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