7(1)(d)

How the Public Access Counselor has treated 7(1)(d)

Section 7(1)(d) covers records connected to law-enforcement proceedings and administrative adjudications. In these matters, public bodies invoked it to withhold termination and resignation paperwork, police reports and narratives, dashboard and body-camera video, dispatch audio and 911 data, and investigative files, arguing disclosure would interfere with pending investigations or prosecutions, affect jury selection or a fair trial, or fall within disciplinary proceedings.

The Public Access Counselor generally applied the exemption narrowly in these decisions. With one exception allowing redaction of home or personal telephone numbers, the Counselor found withholding improper where the body offered only a general or speculative claim of interference without specific support. Reporters seeking employment-status communications, arrest reports, chase videos, and response-time data, among others, were held entitled to disclosure after the claimed law-enforcement or fair-trial basis was not substantiated.

At a glance: 17 documents from 2012 to 2026(16 binding opinions, 1 determination letter). Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(c) (Personal privacy) (9); 7(1)(b) (Private information) (8); 7(1)(a) (Federal/State-law confidentiality — or public defender case files, for documents issued under the other amendment version) (4); 7(1)(f) (Preliminary drafts, notes, and deliberative materials) (3); 7(1)(n) (Employee grievance/discipline adjudication records) (2).

Recurring issues

• Public bodies withheld employee termination or resignation paperwork on the ground it would interfere with a prosecution or proceeding. (A termination letter for a public employee, Resignation and termination paperwork for police officers)
• Police withheld reports, narratives, videos and audio by asserting disclosure would interfere with a pending investigation or prosecution without specific support. (A police department's case/incident report and related records, Police arrest reports, A state police field report referenced in a crash report)
• Public bodies claimed disclosure would deprive a person of a fair trial or taint jury selection. (A termination letter for a public employee, Dashcam footage, dispatch audio, and internal reviews of a fatal police chase, Redacted narrative sections of police arrest reports)
• Bodies cited disciplinary or administrative adjudication and other related exemptions to withhold footage or internal records after an investigation. (Video surveillance footage from an animal control facility, A letter requesting a vote of no confidence)

Practical points

• A public body should explain with specific facts how disclosure would interfere with a pending proceeding rather than relying on a general assertion.
• A requester can challenge a broad withholding of police reports, video, or 911 records when no specific interference has been shown.
• Redactions should be limited to the specific information shown to be exempt, such as home or personal telephone numbers in 911 recordings.

Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.