27/12/2012
Reports in which minors are the victims of sex crimes or are incidentally mentioned arenot exempt in full, but the names of the minors may be redacted. Under the JuvenileCourt Act, a public body is
required
to withhold information identifying an alleged minor victim of a sex crime. 705 ILCS 405/5-905(2) (West 2010);
See
2010 PAC 8955 (Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 8955, issued November 17, 2010, at 2-3).
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 415
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 415 regulates discovery in criminal cases. Rule 415(c)provides that any materials furnished to an attorney pursuant to these rules "shallremain in his exclusive custody and be used only for the purposes of conducting hisside of the case, and shall be subject to such other terms and conditions as the courtmay provide."
Rule 415(c) does not preclude a defendant in a criminal proceeding from obtainingmaterials through FOIA that would ordinarily be subject to discovery. The documents,however, would be subject to any applicable FOIA exemptions, including the redactionof information under section 7(1)(c) and section 7(1)(d)(iv).
See
2010 PAC 9540 (Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 9540, issued October 26, 2010, at 3).Rule 415(c)
would
apply to a FOIA request to the Public Defender’s Office where an
individual, who was or is presently represented by the Public Defender, was seekingrecords relating to his own case.
See
2010 PAC 11715 (Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev.Ltr. 11715, issued January 21, 2011, at 2).
Illinois Supreme Court Rule of Professional Conduct 3.6
The disclosure of documents pursuant to a FOIA request does not constitute an"extrajudicial statement" under rule 3.6. Prosecutors cannot withhold a document that isresponsive to a FOIA request by arguing that Rule 3.6 precludes disclosure and, as aresult, the exemption in section 7(1)(a) of FOIA applies.
See
2010 PAC 7553 (Ill. Att'yGen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 7553, issued July 12, 2010, at 3).The comments to Rule 3.6 provide important guidance in approaching these issues.These comments provide:It is difficult to strike a balance between protecting theright to a fair trial and safeguarding the right of free expression.Preserving the right to a fair trial necessarily entails somecurtailment of information that may be disseminated about a partyprior to trial, particularly where trial by jury is involved. If there wereno such limits, the result would be the practical nullification of theprotective effect of the rules of forensic decorum and theexclusionary rules of evidence. On the other hand, there are vital