Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1984 )

The Attorney General of Texas JIM MAllOX Demmber 21. 1984 Attomoy Qolle7al -r&lo Ifike Driacoll Opinion No. ``-260 lIarria County Attormy 1001 ?reetm, Suits 634 Rer Availability of inforutioa sourt00, Texas 77~302 froo mental health recordr Deer lb. Driacoll: You have requcated our opinioo regarding the availability to the public of inartrumaatr filed in l mentally ill docket in the office of thm county clerk. 4824Abula*va..sunela The Opy Recorda Act. article 6252-17a, eection 3(a)(l). uR8e,m.7mb27s2 V.TX.8. .’ provider that: *1- (a) All informetion collected, assembled. or ml Tun. Ml@ 70s rintained by governmental bodice purauant to lav l4Wslm. TX. ms2.2r11 .or ordinance or in connection'vith the traneactiom 71- of offic:M buoineea ia public informetion ind available to the public during normnl buoineaa hoorm of my governmental body, uith the follarfnl ass Dloadww. aella 2l2 ~vwoclc DL miws acnptionr only: 2w7474222 (1) information deemed confidential by lav, either Corutitutional, etatutory, or by judictil UON.lUllh.(uu~ MIAsen,TX. 7sml.le4w decision. : . . Slm22447 Art&lee 5547-11 end 5547-12, V.T.C.S., provide: All qplicationa, petition., certifiutea. and lll~her'papera permitted or required to be filed in the county court by thir code &all be filed uith’thi county clerk of the proper county who lball fil,e the ~mameand ladorae .oo each paper the dete filtid and the~docket number and hir offichl rQputur4. Each emd> every atatemeot of factm. together with r~et: and every other writing which dieeloaee intiuto d.etaila of the personal and privite, life of the llxueed or the patient or vhich diecloaea intiute detaila of the pereooal life of any and p. 1158 Honorable Mike Drlscoll - Page 2 (JM-260) all membera of the family of the accused or the patient, in a mentally ill docket in the office of the county clerk are hereby declared to be public records of a private nature which may be used, inepected. or copied- only by a written order of the county judge, r-probate judge, a court of domestic relations j;dge, or a district judge of the county in which &e docket la located, and no such order ehall isac;;! until the issulng judge has determined fnformall,y to his satiafactioo that aaid use. inepection, or copying is juetified and in the public intererlt:. (Emphaaia added). Section 3(a)(l) excepts :Irom disclosure under the Open Record8 Act all informetioo made confi,dential by law. Article 5547-12 makes confidential certain records filed in connection with any proceedings under the Mental Health Code. The cltatemeot of facts io every such proceeding is clearly excepted from dieclosure. Other material ia excepted only if it “disclosejs intimate details of the personal and private life of the accused” or of a member of his family. 10 our opioion. the county clerk. in consultation with the county attorney, muat make the initial detJ!l-mination as to whether particular .. informetioo satisfies these cr:iteria. ( The test imposed by arti’::le 5547-12 is similar to that used by tbe Texas Supreme Court in detwmininn whether Information is exceoted from disclosure by e co-n Iav. r