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City of Fort Worth v. Abbott

Texas Government Code �411.153(b) prohibits the release of information in a DNA record; thus, the DNA records at issue were therefore exempt from disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act. Austin Court of Appeals, No. 03-07-00553-CV.

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OPINION

This appeal concerns an open-records request involving certain DNA records held by the City of Fort Worth’s forensic science laboratory and the interplay between section 552.101 of the Texas Public Information Act (formerly known as the Texas Open Records Act)*fn1 and subchapter G, chapter 411 of the government code,*fn2 which prohibits the release of certain DNA records and information contained therein. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 411.153 (West Supp. 2007). After the Attorney General issued a letter ruling concluding that the DNA records held by the City were subject to disclosure under the PIA, appellants the City of Fort Worth and City Manager Dale A. Fisseler*fn3 filed suit challenging this ruling. Appellees, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Melody McDonald,*fn4 intervened and sought a writ of mandamus to compel the disclosure of information held by the City. The trial court granted appellees’ request for a writ of mandamus and ordered the City to disclose the information at issue. Because we conclude that government code section 411.153(b) prohibits the release of information in the DNA records at issue and, therefore, exempts that information from disclosure under the PIA, we reverse the trial court’s order granting appellees’ request for a writ of mandamus and render judgment in favor of the City.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

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