§574.12. Information as to offenders and ex-offenders; confidentiality

A. The presentence investigation report, the pre-parole report, the clemency report, the information and data gathered by the staffs of the Board of Pardons and committee on parole, the prison record, and any other information obtained by the board or committee or the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, correction services and youth services, in the discharge of their official duties shall be confidential and shall not be subject to public inspection nor be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone except as provided by this Section.

B. Information may be released upon request without special authorization, subject to other restrictions that may be imposed by federal law or by other provisions of state law, to the committee on parole, Board of Pardons, the governor, the sentencing judge, counsel for the juvenile in a delinquency matter, a district attorney or law enforcement agency, the personnel and legal representatives of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, corrections services and youth services, including student interns, appropriate governmental agencies, or officials when access to such information is imperative for discharge of the responsibilities of the requesting agency, official, or court officer and the information is not reasonably available through any other means, and court officers with court orders specifying the information requested.

C. Fingerprints, photographs and information pertaining to arrests and dispositions of criminal charges may be released to criminal justice agencies without special authorization.

D. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or his designated representative and the deputy secretary of youth services or his designee may approve the reading of confidential information by the following:

(1) Social service agencies assisting in the treatment of the offender or ex-offender.

(2) Approved researchers who have guaranteed in writing anonymity of all subjects.

E. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or his designated representative and the deputy secretary of youth services or his designee may approve the selective reading of information to a private citizen or organization aiding in the rehabilitation of an offender or ex-offender or directly involved in the hiring of the offender or ex-offender under the following conditions:

(1) It appears that the withholding of the information would be to the offender's or ex-offender's disadvantage.

(2) The requested information is necessary to further the rehabilitation or the likelihood of hiring the offender or ex-offender.

(3) The requested information is not reasonably available through other means.

(4) The offender or ex-offender has given his written consent to the release of the information.

F.(1) Whenever records covered by this Section are subpoenaed, the records shall be submitted to the appropriate court for a ruling as to whether the information should be turned over to the party who caused the subpoena to be issued. The court shall make this determination in camera. Should the court find:

(a) That the information is not relevant to the proceedings, or

(b) That the information was derived from communications which were obviously made in the confidence that they would not be disclosed, or

(c) That confidentiality is essential to future useful relations between the source and the recorder of the information, the information shall be withheld.

(2) Should the court authorize disclosure of the records in accordance with the subpoena, the party who caused the subpoena to be issued shall pay a fee for the cost of production of the records in accordance with R.S. 39:241, unless the court determines that the party has been granted pauper status in accordance with law.

G.(1)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, all information pertaining to an individual's misconduct while incarcerated, statistical information, information pertaining to disposition of criminal charges and incarcerations, and information of a general nature including an individual's age, offense, date of conviction, length of sentence, any correspondence by a public official which requests, or may be determined to be in support of, or in opposition to, the pardon or parole of an individual, and discharge date shall be released to the general public at any time upon request.

(b) Each piece of correspondence by a public official which requests, or may be determined to be in support of, or in opposition to, the pardon or parole of an individual shall be recorded in a central register by the board or committee which received the correspondence. The register shall contain the name of the individual whose pardon or parole is the subject of the letter, the name of the public official who is the author of the letter, and the date the letter was received by the board or committee.

(2) The provisions of Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any correspondence submitted which requests, or may be determined to be in support of, or in opposition to, the pardon or parole of an individual received before August 15, 1997.

H. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and the deputy secretary of youth services are authorized to establish rules and regulations to provide for the orderly administration of this Section.

I. It shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, for any member of the Board of Pardons and committee on parole or their employees to make public any confidential information.

Acts 1968, No. 191, §1. Amended by Acts 1975, No. 322, §1; Acts 1984, No. 140, §1; Acts 1986, No. 177, §1; Acts 1989, No. 680, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1273, §1; Acts 2001, No. 157, §1; Acts 2006, No. 150, §1; Acts 2008, No. 251, §1; Acts 2012, No. 714, §8.