Opinion
NO. 2015 CW 1388
09-10-2015
JOEL PORTER v. BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
In Re: Baton Rouge Police Department, applying for supervisory writs, 19th Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, No. 641155. BEFORE: GUIDRY, HOLDRIDGE AND CHUTZ, JJ.
WRIT DENIED. Louisiana Revised Statute 44:3(A)(1) provides, in pertinent part, that nothing in Chapter 1, pertaining to public records law, shall be construed to require disclosures of records held by police departments when such records pertain to pending criminal litigation, or any criminal litigation which can be reasonably anticipated, until such litigation has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled, except as otherwise provided in Subsection F of the statute. Subsection F provides that, after a period of ten years has lapsed from the date of death, members of the immediate family of the decedent shall be provided unlimited access for any and all purposes to all evidence contained in such records. Accordingly, we find that, as a matter of law, the trial court did not err in ordering the disclosure of the records in its August 12, 2015 judgment.
GH
WRC
JMG
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT /s/_________
DEPUTY CLERK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT