U Memo 13-1

Posted on Dec 6, 2012 in Informal Opinions - UIPA Opinions

U Memo 13-1
December 6, 2012
Denial of Request for Personal Records

Under Part III of the UIPA, requester sought all information maintained by the City and County of Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney (Prosecutor’s Office) about her, including its cases on Honolulu Police Department (HPD) Report Numbers 10-247773, 10-248246, and 10 248247; information maintained by Victim/Witness Kokua Services (VWKS) and the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH); and “minutes” of her meetings with VWKS employee Ms. Mari McCaig.

The Prosecutor’s Office does not maintain the requested police reports, any records about Requester at VWKS, or notes of Ms. McCaig.

VASH is not part of the Prosecutor’s Office. It is a private non-profit entity and is not subject to the UIPA.

The only responsive record maintained by the Prosecutor’s Office, the “Conferral Sheet,” is protected from disclosure by section 92F-22(5), HRS, which allows an agency to withhold personal records protected by statutory privilege. Because the Conferral Sheet consists of attorney work product, it is protected by the attorney work product privilege at Hawaii Rules of Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule 16(e)(5)(i) (2011), and may be withheld under section 92F-22(5), HRS.