State Records Committee Appeal 02-08

BEFORE THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE OF THE STATE OF UTAH

ADRIAN HICKEY, Appellant, vs.

UTAH DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Appellee.

Case No. 02-08

DECISION AND ORDER

By this appeal, inmate Adrian Hickey seeks an order an order compelling Appellee, the Utah Department of Corrections ("Corrections"), to provide copies of the photographs which were taken of his tattoos while he was in housed in the prison's Uinta II facility.

The State Records Committee, having reviewed the written materials submitted by the parties, and having heard testimony and argument on July 10, 2002, now issues the following Decision and Order.

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DECISION

1. Mr. Hickey's appeal is denied. The Committee is persuaded that Corrections was within its authority to handle the requested photographs as "temporary drafts or similar materials" within the meaning of Utah Code Ann. Sec. 63-2-103(19)(b)(i). Corrections' regular practice is to examine photographs of inmate tattoos for gang affiliation. If no gang affiliations are identified, it does not maintain the records.

2. In the present case, none of Mr. Hickey's tattoos were identified as gang-related and the photographs were apparently not maintained. The Government Records Access and Management Act ("GRAMA") does not require that an agency create a record in response to a request. See Utah Code Ann. Sec. 63-2-201(8)(a). Therefore, the Committee agrees it is not necessary for Corrections to produce temporary drafts or similar materials it is not otherwise required to maintain.

ORDER

WHEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED THAT Appellant's appeal is denied and the Department of Corrections' decision is affirmed.

RIGHT TO APPEAL

Either party may appeal this Decision and Order to the district court. The petition for review must be filed no later than thirty (30) days after the date of this order. The petition for judicial review must be a complaint. The complaint and the appeals process are governed by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and by Utah Code Ann. Secs. 63-2-404. The court is required to make its decision de novo. In order to protect its rights on appeal, a party may wish to seek advice from an attorney. ⁽¹⁾

Entered this 15th day of July, 2002.

BY THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE

Cherie Willis, Chairperson
State Records Committee

Footnotes

1. This notice is required by Utah Code Ann. Sec. 63-2-403(12)(d).