The
Honorable Joyette Katz
Commissioner
Department
of Children and Families
505
Hudson Street
Hartford,
CT
Freedom
of Information Request
February
24, 2015
Dear Commissioner Katz:
Recent publicly televised re-appointment
hearings conducted in the Connecticut legislature failed to note that you are
currently serving in the capacity as Chair, of the editorial board of
Connecticut Law Tribune.
Recent editorial coverage in
the Connecticut Law Tribune concerning an article authored by Attorney Norm
Pattis, in an opinion piece, published on-line on Wednesday February 11, 2015,
entitled: “Despite Allegations, Family Courts not Corrupt” recently was
challenged for a lack of authenticity of certain comments authored by Attorney
Pattis.
Such “materially false and
misleading” publication of information would be potentially a matter of
discussion at meetings conducted by the editorial board of the Connecticut Law
Tribune.
As Chair of the Editorial
Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune, and as an appointed public official as
the Commissioner of DCF with substantial responsibilities relating to family
court, probate court and juvenile court proceedings, there is substantial
public interest in the matters involving your personal use of computers and
servers, owned by the State of Connecticut, in your role as the Chair of the
Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune.
If you have used your state
provided email address or any personal email address which was accessed through
servers owned by the State of Connecticut, the content of the communications
contained in such emails are considered “public communications” and subject to
the applications of the Freedom of Information Act.
Decisional cases issued by
the FOI Commission are available for your review which have verified that the
use of personal email addresses to conduct “business” relevant to your
responsibilities as DCF Commissioner are also to be considered “public
documents” subject to the application and legislative intent of the Freedom of
Information Act.
Unfortunately, defining
potential “conflicts of interest” between your responsibilities as Commissioner
of DCF and your role as a Chair, Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law
Tribune, can only be determined by inspecting “public records” pursuant to the
Freedom of Information Act.
Your have massive
responsibilities as Commissioner of DCF and this request for access to “public
records” for “inspection” should not be considered onerous or impinging on your
job responsibilities inasmuch as members of your staff and IT departments can
be utilized to easily retrieve documents through search codes for key words.
Based upon the above
observations, you are herewith required within four business days to
acknowledge the receipt of this request to produce “public records” for public
inspection and to indicate your personal intent to comply with this FOI request.
Within thirty days of the acknowledgment of
this Freedom of Information request you are required to produce for “public
inspection” at your offices at 505 Hudson Street relevant “documents/public
records” requested, subject to “redactions” as permissible and defined in the
Freedom of Information Act and decisions issued by the Commission.
For the purposes of
clarification, “documents/public records” are defined in the Freedom of
Information Act and should be considered as the “base line” for providing the
“public records” to be provided for inspection in this request.
For the purposes of all of the documents requested, the
date span for the production of all “public records” (including personal emails
sent or received regarding DCF business matter referenced in any “public
record” of communications with fellow Editorial Board members or members of the
staff of the CLT), should be considered from the date of your sworn oath as DCF
Commissioner to the date of compliance with this request dated February 24,
2015.
The “public records” to be
made available for “public inspection” should include” for the date span
indicated in the above paragraph should include:
- Any “public records” in your possession sent or received from your State of Connecticut provided email address, state owned fax machine, received at your offices at 505 Hudson Street or your home address authored by you in your capacity as DC Commisioner or sent or received “public records” sent to you by any past or present member of the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune, including but not limited to the following individuals:Atty Dwight Merriam Robert Farr Elizabeth GordonJoyce Chen Eugene Fidell Rachel GoldbergProlog K. Das Mary Galvin Robert HolzbergWesley Horton Alan Neigher Steven WiznerJocelyn Kennedy Lemis Pepe Paul SussmanDavid King Thomas Scheffer Jay StapletonJames Lyon Mark Soboslar Kevin MichielsenEugene Marconi James F. SullivanSean McElligot Cecil ThomasRobert Mitchell Thomas UllmanDennis C. Murphy Diane Whitney
- Any “public record” in any communication sent to any of the above individuals issued on DCF Stationery or sent on your personal stationery which references the words “DCF” in any portion of such communication including how you signed such letters using DCF Commissioner.
- Any “public record” sent or received in your possession confirming the date of your acceptance to become the Chair of the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune or to which established a date in which you became a member of the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune.
- A properly redacted copy of your required disclosure of all statements of financial interests (SFI’s) required by law to be filed with the Office of State Ethics from 2010-2015. A copy of all expense reports filed by you as the Commissioner of DCF filed with the Office of State Ethics required to be filed with the Office of State Ethics filed from 2010 through the date of compliance with this request. A copy of all gifts received by you in your capacity as Commissioner of DCF required to be filed with the Office of State Ethics from 2010 to the date of compliance with this request.
- Any “public records” in your possession of honorariums or other public speaking engagements which you have made, including appearances you may have made to any law association groups as DCF Commissioner.
- Any “public records” in your possession which you have sent or received at the DCF offices at 505 Hudson Street from member of the judicial branch of government, including any Superior Court judges, probate court judges, family court judges or any CSSD employee or Court operations personnel which are permissible for release pursuant to the FOI Act.
- Any “public records” in your possession sent or received from any present or past Editorial Board member of the Connecticut Law Tribune to any personal email account or home address you have maintained during your tenure as DCF Commissioner which embed the words “DCF,” “family court docket numbers or family court litigant names”, “juvenile court docket numbers or juvenile court litigant names” or “probate court docket numbers or juvenile court litigant names”
- Any “public records” in your possession as DCF Commissioner and as Chair or member of the Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board which contain minutes to any meeting convened or attended by you at the Connecticut Law Tribune which would capture any content in such minutes of the meetings of the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune concerning discussion of any DCF, family court, juvenile court or probate court legal proceeding in which an employee of DCF would be involved.
- Any “opinion pieces”, “letters to the editor” which you may have authored and were published in the on line or print editions of the Connecticut Law Tribune as Chair of the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune while you have served as DCF Commissioner.
- A copy of your letter of resignation as a Supreme Court Justice.
- A copy of any “public records” in your possession which may contain information regarding the proposed consolidation by Governor Malloy of the operations of Court Support Services Division and DCF.
- A copy of any “public records” in your possession sent or received, whether retrieved from your State of Connecticut provided email address or any personal email address in which the recent publication of the article “Despite Allegations, Family Courts are Not Corrupt” was discussed by you in your role as DCF Commissioner and Chair of the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune
- A copy of any “public records” in your possession, sent or received, whether retrieved from your State of Connecticut provided email address or any personal email address which contains the name Michael Nowacki.
- A copy of any “public records” in your possession, sent or received whether retrieved from your State of Connecticut provided email address or any personal email address which contains of the name of Peter Szymonik.
- A copy of any “public records” in your possession, sent or received, whether retrieved from your State of Connecticut provided email address or any personal email address which contains references embedded in any “public records” referencing the words “Task Force To Study Legal Disputes Involving the Care and Custody of Minor Children, CT-N coverage of the public hearings of January 9, 2014 or March 31, 2014, SB 494 or Public Act 14-3” while you were serving in the capacity as DCF Commissioner and the Chair or member of the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune.
- A copy of any resignation letter you might issue as DCF Commissioner to withdraw as the Chair of the Connecticut Law Tribune’s Editorial Board which may ensue from the date of the receipt of this letter by fax and registered mail and the date of compliance with the production of these requested “public records for public inspection.”
If
you would like me to speak to any member of your staff who is assigned the
responsibilities to compile these requested “public records”, please do not
hesitate to have that person contact me via email, phone, or letter based upon
the information contained below.
When
the public records are prepared for inspection, please know it is my intent to
be joined by a group of people who will accompany me to scan public records in
the most efficient manner possible so as to not occupy your staff’s valuable
time.
I
would like to “inspect in person” any partial compliance with any of these
“public record’s which can be provided to me from this list requested in this
letter no later than Thursday, March 5.
As
you may know, the United States Attorney Office has recently announced the
creation of a Task Force hotline number to allow citizens to report matters of
“public corruption” to a special phone number in which complaints can be made.
Therefore,
I am copying Deputy Chief State Attorney Leonard Boyle and the U.S. Attorney
Deidre Daly on these communications to alert them to the importance of
compliance with evidence acquired by citizens pursuant to the application of
the Freedom of Information Act.
Cordially,
Michael Nowacki
319 Lost District Drive
New Canaan, CT 06840
(203) 273-4296
cc: Deputy Chief State Attorney Leonard Boyle
U.S. Attorney Deidre Daly
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