In the Matter of Daniel Karlin,
Respondent,
v.
James McMahon, &c., et al.,
Appellants.
2001 NY Int. 71
MEMORANDUM:
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, without costs, and the matter remitted to Supreme Court for further proceedings in accordance with this Memorandum.
All government records are presumptively open for
public inspection unless specifically exempt from disclosure by
State or Federal statute (Public Officers Law § 87[2]). Here,
Civil Rights Law § 50-b(1) provides a statutory exemption from
disclosure for documents that tend to identify the victim of a
sex offense. Civil Rights Law § 50-b(2)(a), which allows
disclosure of such documents to a person charged with a sex
offense, does not apply to petitioner as he stands convicted
Additionally, insofar as the requested records are exempt from disclosure pursuant to State statute (Public Officers Law § 87[2]; Civil Rights Law § 50-b[1]), the police are not obligated to provide the records even though redaction might remove all details which "tend to identify the victim" (see, Civil Rights Law § 50-b[1]; see also, Matter of Short v Board of Mgrs. of Nassau Med. Ctr., , 57 NY2d 399).