Oklahoma County DA denies open records bid

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater denied an open records request Monday for the birth dates of Oklahoma County employees despite a recent opinion from Attorney General Drew Edmonson that birth dates of public employees are presumed open records.

A letter signed by Prater called the request by The Oklahoman "clearly an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy” of county employees, citing an exemption in the Oklahoma Open Records Act. Edmondson released an opinion this month saying because birth dates aren’t specifically mentioned in the exemption, they are presumed open.

"This flies in the face of the attorney general’s opinion,” said Joey Senat, an Oklahoma State University journalism professor and open government advocate. "When you leave the decision to the public officials, some of them are going to ignore the law and do what they want.”

Edmondson’s opinion said a public agency can’t have a blanket policy refusing to release birth dates. Because birth dates are presumed open, it is up to the agency to show how the release of a birth date would be an invasion of privacy, Edmondson’s opinion said. Such a decision on an exemption must be made and explained on an individual basis.

If it is determined that releasing a birth date would be an invasion of privacy, the privacy concern of the request must be weighed against the public’s interest in having the records open.

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