14.81 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorabla Eontar Carrieon, Jr., Dire&or 

Mpartmant or Pub110 Saratf 

Camp Mabry 

Austin, Tuaa 

Dear Slrl 

0r Haroh 4, 194 

to tho raot the 

rreritos and ana 

0rri0Or6 an& 

6 a8 pro+fdod 

1~ Statutea, fou 

r oonddrration. Wk 

ut ror aonvrnionir 

,a Department ot PUblIe 

allow ropreesntatlrsa 

ereste pparronal aoaoss to 

“2. May th,a Do,partmant :of Pub110 

safety refiwe to rurnish~osrtitiid 6opiet1 

or aooidant reports to rlvate indirlUaal8 

or ri3-m rspueatiry eua ii aartiflab aopiaa? 
1.82 

Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 2 

"3. Mar the Departmmt of Public 

sarety reruse iurormation siren on any 

individual accident report to private 

pert30na or rim r8queating eu0h inromtlon? 

"4. Are osrtffied copies or accident 

reports subject to subpoena by justice 

courts end oourta of higher denominatlon?~ 

MAY TBE DEPARTMEBT OF PUBLIC SAFETY REFUSE TO ALLOW 

REPRESEWTATI’VES OF PRIYATE INTERESTS PERSONAL ACCESS 

TO ACCIDENT REPORT FILES? 

Although 8om4 courts have held that In this 

country every person is entitled to the right of free 

a00488 to, and pub110 lnapeotion of, pub110 reoords, 

without any ahoring or epsolal lntereste, Burton va. 

Tuite (Xich. 1899) U R. W. 282, 7 L. R. A. 73, other 

jurisdlotlons hare adopted the rule that a person seeking aocess to au& reoords muet have an Interest In the 

reoord or paper or whfoh inapeotion ie sought, and that 

the lxwpeotion muat be ror a legitimate purpose. ~xoise 

~l~salon or Cltronnella YE. State (Ala. 1912) 60 so. 

In the case or Palaoioa, et al., ~‘8. Corbett, et 

al.‘(Cir. App. or Teal. 1915) 172 S. ,w. 777, writ or 

error refused by the Supreme Court ~oi Texas, the aourt 

rollowed the latter nentloned ml4 and atfirmed the decision of the lower oourt whloh granted a writ of mandanu8 oommandlng several oonnty ofilcem to permit the 

plalntlrrs or their auditora to lnspeot and audit all 

oountf records under their oontrol, and to obtain such 

extraots, copiee and data therefrom as thef might desire. The ootirt, In holding that the right of inepeotion wea a quallrled right, in part statsd: 

“There being no dealslone of our own 

oourte upon thla matter, 80 rar as we hare 

bean able to aeaertaln, ‘we have had recourse to the deolslona or ,the oourta or 

other oomtaon-law etatea,:,‘and oonolude 

that the opinion or thr Supraae Court or 

Tehneaaee, in the ease of Stats ex rel. 

Welford v. Williama, 110 Ten% 549, 75 

S. W. 948, 6l, .L. R. A. 435, constitu tea 

the best stateaent of the rules oi law 

which should b& applied to this oharaoter 

of oaae. We quote from said opinion a6 

rolionrs: 
183 

Eouorablr Eoaer Garrison, Jr;, paga 3 

**In theory the right or exmiuation is absolute, but in praotloe it ia 

at last only a matter of disaietion, beaaum suoh application ie likely at any 

tin8 to be refused on the pet of the 

ouetodlan of the books and papers Bought 

to be am&mined, au6 than th4 right muat 

be forced by maudamu&i, and this writ la 

not Of abaoluto right, but merelY or dfsoretion, to be awarded only in a proper 

oaae; the iaots olained as authorizlug 

Its lasuanoa to br judgrd or in 4rarY oaae 

bY the oourt, and th4 nit to ba awarded 

or withheld upon a oonaidaratlon or all 

the ,o%rauW&anOea prrsented. So, while 

the Clght Is, in theorf, absolute, Yet 

it is in praotioe 80 limited by the remedy 

neossaazy ror.it.ts rnroraem4ut aa..that it 

ban be dsuo+inated only a ~quallrled 

right..** 

In the light of this cam, ,if the aaaidrnt 

reports in quratlon aia snot r~eoret ‘and oourld~tial, 

but on the othir hand are of a public nature, It wOuld 

84a.u that prirato peraoru (OX their dulf appolnt4d 

rapresentatlrrr) would have~a right to lu8peot auah 

of the report6 as they might ehow an intare#t lun; 

In the oaae of Paople ax rel.~St&netron t. 

Earnrtt, State Oomml88ioner 0r the Bureau or ,*tor 

Behlolss (Sup.;Gt. 'of p4w York,,l927) 226 f. Y. f&p. 

338; affirmad by the Appellate Dltlslon, 1928, 230 

Ii. Y. E&p. ~28; affQuu46 by the Court of A peals or 

pew York (Meaorandum D4alsion). 164 N. E. Boa tha 

raota show that perpone involved in antomobLie 

aooldant~ in the Btate~ of Xew York were requlr& by 

etatote to aend aoaltdgnt &&mXta to .the Coaaiasioner,-’ 

or Motor Vehiolss, and these raportr war4 made ,apon 

form prepared by the.CommissioaOr. Xdward 6. gtenstrom 

was killed in an, ~+utcimobile aeafdant, and his wire, a8 

adslnlstratrlx, haa ooamenoed an aotion to rasorar 

daaages ror the death ,or her, intestate. She .requeatrd 

copies of the acclbent reports; ,~but~ tka Corairmioner rerues6 to furnish tham on the ‘groU848 that they wera 

treated as conrldentlal, '~4~4 filed solely ,ior tho .QB~ 

of the Comaisaioner in preparing statistic8 and &martalning the oauae of aoaldeata,‘~and for providing ip- 
Honorable Homer Ckrrlaon, Jr., pagr 4 

formation to enable the Motor Pehlcl4 Department to oontrol 

the aooldent problem. Xra. StsnatrOm tiled this mendamua 

proaeadlng, direotlng the Uoarolaaloner to furnlah her with 

oopl4a of the reports. Tbr Supreme Court laauod the mendamus dlreating the Commlaaloner to permit the relator, or 

her ~attorney, to lnapeot a&l the reports In hla paea4aalon 

regarding taia aortain a8tOPaabih aco1dent, and the daalalon 

waa arrlnaed ln'both the &p&late Mvlalon and thr Court 

0r Appeala~or mw York. 

The court held~that three mporte were auah 

publlo reoorda aa ward aubjrot to lnapeotion br pareone 

hating an lnt6reat theroln., and stat&d that suoh-an inapeotion would promote the publio laterart an(L not br 

d4trimenbl t&It. 

as r0ii0mt 

we quote rrom portions or that opinion 

l X take the rub to bs In rrlatlon to 

auoh raodrda and doaumenta, ~althongh on 

rile ilth a pub110 offfeat pursuant to 

statute; that they o@ght not to .$a indlaarlmlnataly aubjeot to inrpeotlon. Howover,, 

any parson who has an i8tS~eSt ln stitch x4-. 

cord or docaPe& should ordlnar1lJ be permitted to inapeet it, 8nlea8 Its inepaOtfOn 

wou~ou,",v"oua'" be, drtrl~ex+al to pabllu 

. :.wa dirriatf f6 to determine 

what aonatltutaa a mfflilant interest 

or an untlmel~ and ipapropcrr olraonstanor : 

ror inapeotlon. 

0. . . . . . . . I do not hold that 

these raporta are open generally for inapeotlon to tha publip, but only to audh 

persona who satablleh a proper Intorest 

therein, and'tha barean-eeh undo8btedly 

roneulete a proosduro by whloh eeoh applioaat ror inapmdtl,ok .x&&l be raqulred to 

prove his lntbrstit aid right or lnapotion, 

and that permltte~~ in'proper 04~66 08lf 

under reasonable regulation and a&zol.* 
Ronorabls Homer DBrrIaon, Jr., page 5 

Aoaordlbgto the abort authorltlsa, and alnoe 

theaa aooldant raparts ar4 of a publio.natUM baoauas 

they are raqulred bJ law tom be *kapta ant% iil4d by the 

me 

d 

attaent 0r RlbliO saretr {seutlon 8-C. SIlb4ltlslon 

and Seotlon l2, Artidle 6687a, Yernon’e Texae Clwl& 

St&tea) It la tha opinion or this D4partmrnt that 

prltate persona (or theirduly appuiiated r4pr4rantatltes) 

who show that th4r hare an..lntmraat ln aertaln of these 

reports, ar'c entitled to inapaat~auah raporta, .aqbj& 

to rtraao!iaUregulati0na adopt46 by Pourd4partment. 

Ae to what alght~oonatlt.uta~a sufficiuat intoMat (antitling a parson to aaa thgm rdporta) in l agh lmtanaa, 

we are unable to say; each aaar; ln thla oonneotlon., 

must depina upon lt.a p3rtiaular raata. 

XAY~THE DRPARTMRWpOF RlEaIC SAl'RTTI$PWSR TOXIRWISB 

CEM'IFIED GOPIIRI OF.ACCCID$RT REPORTS TOpRSVATlC It?-. 

DIVILXIALS OBFI~SRRQWBSTIWC~SRGRGERTIPIED COPES? 

In ooun4atloa wlth.th4~84~tw0 qu4atlona, wa 

ass-4 that.Pou :~refer.to the, &tf or issuing oertlr~.ad. 

ooplea or furnlahinglnltormatl0n~ barora aq aatual litigation la pending, and ta5a assumption will b4 the-baala 

for our answ4ra to these qasSCloti. 

60 rar aa w4 bav4 found, thsra la no oonm0n 

law duty whloh rrould require public cb.floiala to Frraue 

asrtlrlsd aopiaa or their rsaorda rarrel~ upon applloatlon being made ror nuoh r40ord; nor ~hate we found any 

statute ln Texas whloh ~~allea It ths datf oi all pub110 

oitlolal6 to furnish oertli+ad ooplsa or thelrrsoorda 

mer4lW wh4n a8oh'applicatioa la made. There are apeoial 

atatutea whlah raqulre asrtaln offlalaI8 to furnlah 4ertlflad coplss or reoorda ln thrlr orflae when ~applloatlon 

la aade, Artlola~ 3722, Vernon'8 Retlard Civil Statutes, 

1925; how4wer, none 0i thaae statutes plaoe au4h.a duty 

upon the Dapartaat 0$ Pub110 Welfare. Art1014 W3 

(A), Vernonwe R4vla46 Oiril Statutea,~aefa oqt th4 dutlea 

of the Publia SsfetJ Comlssion, and Subdlvlslon (3) prorides! 
1.86 

Honorable Hoaer Cerrlson; g‘r.g pega 6 

Vha Commission ahal eetabllah 

end make pabSle procl'ametldn of all 

rclao end rsgaletlona ior the condaot 

of the work OS the Departpant ea mey 

be deemed nsoeseery end err mey not be 

lnconeletent with the prorl111ons of 

thl8 Aat or ot the lewr or the State.* 

Tham stetutaa .then oredtg the oiiiee of 

Dirsotor of the Depertiat of Pub110 Seietyand Mlole 

&Al3 (6), Yernon~*a Civil Statutaa dsflnri hia olar8 

end dntlrs. .Subdlrislon (2) of A&ale W3 (6P proride8 in part; 

“. . . . . . . .end make eueh rules 

end ~regaletlons,, sub jaot to, the epprctal 

of thr aoicml?rrlon; B'S hre d?,cmed neoessery 

ror the control or thr 'DepertmatFW 

ibstralng tht tharr .Sa no petilhg 12tfgetion 

which would Involve dny dt the'eu~cid~~t~~portr,.here~ 

rrrerreb'to, .It-I* ~otir;opiqlon Bhdt %htiWpsrkent'of 

Publfc Safety, in the .~ae~ofae~’ OS lte smnd di8otitiQn, 

oould by complylq with Artloles~~3 (4) i4U.4l.3 (6), 

aupre, adopt eaoh rules end. ragulat,lons that would for-. 

bid the Ieerrance of~nertlilmd oop$qr o$ t@e?e faporta. .: .L 

Although ~the:ebov+disdo8~ion refers fo hertlfled doplas, It l8~'atlr,opUfon"thet the 11em0 ree~onr 

and conalasions air applfceble t+ the duty of fu?rnl~- 

ing lnfo&natlon oontelnad-in such reperts. 

AHE CERTIFIED CCPIBB OFACCIDER'P R&OR'& SURJECFTC 

SIBFOEW~BT JUSTICB COUR% ARD COURTS OF EJ3HlSR 

DBBOmATIOH? 

Article 462, fernon* Code or Crlmlnel Procedure, 1923, provides : 

%abpoen@ moaa Tymm., If 'a wItno 

hate IQ hle- caaaesslon my lns.tmt Dry 

or o'thgk thing ~desliad es.sil4ence, yMQf, ,.. the au poena;~:rsy ~o-,eoi-ty ,xiu&? brldence -and 

direct that .the'witners bring tha si3ma 

with hirn and prodaae lt~'ln cOurti* 
187' 

Honorable Homer t3arrlson. Jr.. page 7 

This atetute la eppllaable to orlalnal oeaea. 

In Texas there la no spealflo prwlsion for euah rubpoenea in civil oeaea, but they aey be leeued to oompel the production of booke and paper0 which are m&aria1 

evidence for the party dswmdlmg them. See the oeaa of 

Stookuell te. Snyder (Ct. of Uir. App. of Tex. 1932) 

51 S. W. (24) 812. where the oourt aeldr 

a. . . Plelntlti ten elwaya issue e 

subpoena duoea teoum where the crldenor 

is within the jurlsdlotlon of the oourt, 

es wee the oeae here, or aen give notloa 

to produos end offer eseondery srldence. 

. . . .n 

See el.ao the aase or Slmon '1. Ash (Ct. of Civil Appeals 

of Texas. 1892) 20 8. 1. 719, rhsre'lt wee statedr 

". . . But even third pernon6, who 

bre ln their poemeaion booka or paper8 

in whloh one ot the partlee hem en lntrrest, 

mey be compelld t.o producb tha; and by 

*lntarfmt*, as tha mr4 is here used, we 

understand that, if the doearents are 

material eridanoe ior the party demanding 

them, mmh party hes an lutaremt in them, 

end their produdlon my be compelled by 

either bill of discovery or by subpoena 

duos6 tsoum. 3 Ckresnl. BT. I 305. . . .w 

By rirtoe of the above authorities, it ir 

the opinion or this Department that oertlrlad aoples 

of these eocldrnt reparta are aobjaot to e eubpoena 

duoee tecum by the coarte of this State, inaludlng' 

the justtioe of the peeaa courts, as well a6 the dlstriat and aounty oourta, Article 2&W, Vermn*a Rerlasd Civil Statutes, 1925, aubjeot to the followlag 

conditions and limitations: 

1. The evidence whioh the wltnsse la required to produce auat be within the jorlsdlotloa 

of the aourt. Stookwsll ~8. Snyder, supre. 

In a olrll suit the subpoena oenixot 

be issued t; EI county other then that in whleh th* 

trial oourt sits. ~ayles t~.,,B$edley and Meteelf 

Coolpany, 92 Tsx. 406, 49 S. @. %9. 
188 

Honorable Homer Gerrlaon, Jr., pegs 8 

3. A subpoena duoes teeum must give a 

reaaonebls aocurate description of the papers wentad, 

either by data, title, eubstanoe or the subject matter 

to which they relate. 

31 I,. R. A., 

RX perte Gould, 132 s. w. 364, 

New Sarlos, 835. 

However, there 1~8 no lsgel prohibition 

preventing or prohibiting the taking of depositlone 

0r the oifloara, agantn, servants end employaaa OS 

the Dapartmaat or Public Safety regarding the above 

mentioned eooldent reports, provided, of couraa, said 

depositiona are taken and obte~ined In the menner and 

&a;m~;lanoe wlth the law oontrolllng and governing 

. 

Yop1'8 +ery truly: 

ATTORRlKOBNERAL OFTEXAS 

APPROVED OPlNlON 0 OOMMIITEL 

4eP