Forbes, 061118 INAGO, AGO 2018-6

• Case Date: June 11, 2018
• Court: Indiana

Cynthia Forbes AGO 2018-6 No. 2018-6 State of Indiana Office of the Attorney General June 11, 2018          Cynthia Forbes          Cynthia Forbes, Legal Counsel          Indiana State Police          100 North Senate Avenue          Indianapolis, IN 46204-2259          RE: Release of Personal Information on Accident Reports under APRA/DPPA          Dear Ms. Forbes:          The Indiana State Police has requested of the Indiana Attorney General an opinion concerning the risk of public disclosure of "personal information," as defined by federal laws created to shield motorists' private information when they find themselves exposed in the pages of crash reports. Balancing the interests of law enforcement in preserving accurate records of vehicle crashes against the perceived need, protected by federal laws designed to safeguard privacy for the travelling public, is no easy task. To do the legal analysis correctly, one must navigate a serpentine course, zigzagging through a succession of alternating state and federal provisions, arriving at last at the proper formula for balancing these important interests.          QUESTIONS PRESENTED          As specifically stated in your letter requesting the opinion of the Attorney General:          Can crash data that include personally identifiable information be disclosed through an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request where to do so may result in a violation of the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 18U.S.C. §2721 et seq. If not, would non-disclosure violate the APRA?          BRIEF ANSWER          Because the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act ("DPPA") declares "personal information" from a motor vehicle record to be non-disclosable, such information remains confidential under APRA unless a DPPA exception applies. This conclusion applies whether the information at issue derives from a crash report extracted from a law enforcement database or from a driver's license.          INDIANA LEGAL BACKGROUND          Law...