Are North Carolina Parole Commission records open to public inspection under the Public Records Law, or are they confidential like the underlying prison records?

Plain-English summary

Two separate inquiries reached the AG at roughly the same time. Rep. Larry Justus asked which Parole Commission records had to be disclosed under the Public Records Law and which could be withheld as confidential. Parole Commission Chairman Juanita Baker asked who had the authority to disclose Commission records. Senior Deputy AG William Farrell and Special Deputy AG W. Dale Talbert combined the answers in one opinion.

Threshold rule: all prison records are confidential. The Public Records Law (G.S. § 132-1 et seq.) presumes public disclosure but carves out information "otherwise specifically provided by law" as confidential (§ 132-1.2(4)). Prison records fit that exception. G.S. § 148-74 puts inmate case records and related materials in a single central file under the Secretary of Correction's control. G.S. § 148-76 makes that information available only to "law-enforcement agencies, courts, correctional agencies, or other officials requiring criminal identification, crime statistics, and other information respecting crimes and criminals," not to the general public.

Goble v. Bounds settled the point. The NC Court of Appeals in Goble v. Bounds, 13 N.C. App. 579 (1972), interpreted § 148-74 and § 148-76 to make all prison records confidential and inspectable only by those specifically named in the statutes. The NC Supreme Court affirmed, 281 N.C. 307 (1972), and added that the common-law rule treats prison records as confidential and not subject to inspection by the public or the inmate. Baugh v. Woodard, 56 N.C. App. 180 (1982), extended the rule to inmate mental-health records (not subject to inspection even by the inmate). The Fourth Circuit reached the same result for federal-court access. Paine v. Baker, 595 F.2d 197 (4th Cir. 1979). Franklin v. Shields, 569 F.2d 784 (4th Cir. 1978) (en banc), held that prisoners have no constitutional right of access to their own prison records.

Parole records are prison records. State v. Russell, 92 N.C. App. 639 (1989), held that parole records are made confidential by G.S. § 15-207, and the Fourth Circuit in Ross v. Woodard, 683 F.2d 846 (1982), held that a potential parolee has no constitutional right of access to his parole file. The combined effect: documents created or received by the Parole Commission in the performance of its duties (eligibility analyses, post-release supervision records, official action documentation) are confidential.

Two officials have discretionary release authority.

• The Chairman of the Parole Commission has inherent authority as the agency head to release Commission records when release is essential to maintaining the agency's integrity or its level/quality of services.
• The Secretary of Department of Correction has statutory authority under § 15-207 to disclose Parole Commission records, and additionally has general supervisory authority over the Commission that permits release in similar circumstances.

The opinion does not give a checklist of what counts as "essential to maintaining the integrity" of the agency. The standard is committed to the discretion of the disclosing official. A public-records requester who is denied parole-record access has no Public Records Law cause of action; the records are confidential and discretionary release is the only path.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. Chapter 132 (Public Records) and Chapter 148 (State Prison System) have been amended multiple times since 1996. Victim notification and victim-information disclosure rules have been added at both the state and federal levels. North Carolina's Crime Victim Rights Act (G.S. § 15A-825 et seq.) and the federal Victims' Rights and Restitution Act create separate disclosure channels for victim-related parole information. Anyone analyzing a current parole-records disclosure question should review the current text of these statutes and any applicable victim-rights provisions.

Background and statutory framework

North Carolina's parole system is administered by the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission (formerly the Parole Commission), a five-member quasi-judicial body that grants, revokes, terminates, and suspends paroles, authorizes work release, and assists the Governor with reprieves, commutations, and pardons (G.S. § 143B-266(a)). The Commission's records contain three categories of material:

1. Documents the Commission creates for its exclusive use (parole hearings notes, eligibility analyses, deliberations).
2. Documents the Commission receives from outside sources (victim statements, law enforcement reports).
3. Documents the Department of Correction creates but the Commission uses (institutional behavior reports, classification information, medical and mental health records).

All three categories are kept in a single inmate central file under the Department of Correction's control (G.S. § 148-74). § 148-76 limits who may inspect that file: law enforcement, courts, correctional agencies, and officials needing criminal identification or crime statistics. The public is not on the list.

The Public Records Law (Chapter 132) operates with a presumption of disclosure but yields to specific confidentiality statutes. § 148-74 and § 148-76 are such statutes. The combination of statutory text and Goble v. Bounds settled the rule that prison records are categorically confidential. The opinion extended the categorical rule to parole records on the ground that they share the same underlying character.

The discretionary release authority is the safety valve. There are circumstances (responding to media inquiries about agency conduct, addressing public concerns about specific cases, providing information to victims or witnesses) in which release of some parole-record information serves the public interest. The opinion vests that judgment in the Chairman and the Secretary, with the standard tied to agency integrity and service quality.

Common questions

Could a journalist get any Parole Commission record under this opinion?

Only through discretionary release by the Chairman or the Secretary. The journalist had no enforceable Public Records Law right to inspection. In practice, parole-record disclosure for media purposes is rare and case-specific.

Could an inmate get his own parole file?

No, per Goble v. Bounds and the Fourth Circuit decisions cited. The opinion confirms that inmates do not have access to their own parole records as a matter of right. Some specific items might be made available through litigation discovery in habeas or civil-rights cases, but routine inmate-file inspection is not permitted.

What about victims and victim advocates?

The opinion did not address victim access specifically. NC's victim-rights framework has evolved separately and now provides specific channels for victim notification of parole hearings and post-release supervision events. Those channels operate independently of the Public Records Law and the Goble confidentiality rule.

Could a court order disclosure in litigation?

Yes. Discovery in civil-rights cases, habeas proceedings, and similar litigation can pierce the confidentiality protection. The discovery would proceed under judicial supervision with appropriate protective orders. The opinion focuses on routine public-records disclosure, not litigation-specific compelled production.

Who decides what's "essential to maintaining the integrity" of the agency?

The Chairman of the Parole Commission and the Secretary of Department of Correction, in their respective domains. The opinion treats the question as a matter of administrative judgment. There is no defined external review of that judgment, though abuse-of-discretion challenges in court are theoretically possible.

How did this interact with the Public Records Law's general policy of disclosure?

The opinion squares the prison-records confidentiality with the general disclosure policy by treating § 148-74 and § 148-76 as the specific statutes that override the general presumption. The general policy applies to records not specifically made confidential; prison and parole records are specifically made confidential, so the carve-out controls. The News & Observer v. Starling case (312 N.C. 276) is cited for the general policy, not for the conclusion in this opinion.

Source

• Landing page: https://ncdoj.gov/opinions/parole-commission-records-application-of-the-public-records-law-disclosure-authority/

Citations

• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1.2
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-6
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-266
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 148-74
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 148-76
• N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15-207
• News and Observer Publishing Co. v. State ex rel. Starling, 312 N.C. 276, 322 S.E.2d 133 (1984)
• News and Observer Publishing Company v. Wake County Hospital System, 55 N.C. App. 1, 284 S.E.2d 542 (1981), cert. denied, 305 N.C. 302, 291 S.E.2d 151 (1982)
• Goble v. Bounds, 13 N.C. App. 579, 186 S.E.2d 638, aff'd, 281 N.C. 307, 188 S.E.2d 347 (1972)
• Baugh v. Woodard, 56 N.C. App. 180, 287 S.E.2d 412 (1982)
• Paine v. Baker, 595 F.2d 197 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 925 (1979)
• Franklin v. Shields, 569 F.2d 784 (4th Cir. 1978) (en banc), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 1003 (1978)
• State v. Russell, 92 N.C. App. 639, 376 S.E.2d 458 (1989)
• Ross v. Woodard, 683 F.2d 846 (4th Cir. 1982)

Original opinion text

April 24, 1996

The Honorable Larry T. Justus
North Carolina General Assembly
State Legislative Building, Room 1013
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-1096

Juanita H. Baker, Chairman
Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission
Post Office Box 29540
Raleigh, North Carolina 27626-0540

Re: Advisory Opinion — Parole Commission Records; Application of the Public Records Law, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1 et seq.; Disclosure Authority.

Dear Representative Justus and Chairman Baker:

You each have asked questions concerning what restrictions, if any, are placed upon the disclosure of records created, received and used by the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission (hereinafter Parole Commission) in the performance of its statutory duties. Representative Justus has asked what Parole Commission records are required to be disclosed pursuant to the Public Records Law, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1 et seq., and what records may be withheld on the grounds they are "confidential." Chairman Baker has asked who has the authority to disclose Parole Commission records. The questions are so closely related that they are best addressed in one comprehensive response. For reasons which follow, we conclude that all prison records, including parole records, are confidential and therefore are not required to be disclosed pursuant to the Public Records Law. We also conclude both the Chairman of the Parole Commission and the Secretary of the Department of Correction have discretionary authority to disclose parole records, notwithstanding their confidential status, when essential to maintaining the integrity of their respective agencies or to maintaining the level or quality of services provided by their agencies.

The Parole Commission is established by statute and given authority to grant, revoke, terminate and suspend paroles; to authorize work release privileges for inmates, and to assist the Governor in exercising his authority in granting reprieves, commutations and pardons. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-266(a) (1994). In performing its duties, the Parole Commission creates and receives correspondence, documents and records containing information related to inmates' eligibility and suitability for parole and their post-release behavior. The Parole Commission also creates records documenting its official actions concerning inmates' parole. "Case records and related materials [concerning a specific inmate] compiled for use by the Secretary of Correction and the Parole Commission [are] maintained in a single central file system . . . ." See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 148-74 (1994). The administration of the records section maintaining inmates' central files is "under the control and direction of the Secretary of Correction." Id. Although there is but a single central file for each inmate, some of the correspondence, documents and records contained therein initially are created or received by the Parole Commission for its exclusive use. Other correspondence, documents and records contained in an inmate's central file initially are created or received by the Department of Correction but used by both the Department and the Parole Commission. By law, all information contained in an inmate's central file may be "made available to law-enforcement agencies, courts, correctional agencies, or other officials requiring criminal identification, crime statistics, and other information respecting crimes and criminals." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 148-76 (1994).

An analysis of which Parole Commission records are required to be disclosed begins by reference to the Public Records Law, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1 et seq. (1995), and other laws specifically addressing disclosure of the particular record being sought. By enacting the Public Records Law, "the legislature intended to provide that, as a general rule, the public would have liberal access to public records." News and Observer Publishing Co. v. State ex rel. Starling, 312 N.C. 276, 281, 322 S.E.2d 133, 137 (1984). Under the law, "public records" are defined as . . . all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound recording, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data-processing records, artifacts, or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1(a) (1995). As used in the Public Records Law, the phrase "made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of public business" includes, in addition to those records required to be kept by law, "records that are kept in carrying out [the agency's] lawful duties." News and Observer Publishing Company v. Wake County Hospital System, 55 N.C. App. 1, 13, 284 S.E.2d 542, 549 (1981), cert. denied, 305 N.C. 302, 291 S.E.2d 151, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 803, 103 S.Ct. 26, 74 L.Ed.2d 42 (1982) (emphasis added). An "agency of North Carolina government" includes "every public office, public officer or official (State or local, elected or appointed), institution, board, commission, bureau, council, department, authority or other unit of government of the State . . . ." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1(a).

The Parole Commission is an agency of North Carolina government as defined by the Public Records Law. Without more, all correspondence, documents and records created or received by the Parole Commission in connection with the transaction of its public business would be considered public records and their custodian required to permit them "to be inspected and examined . . . by any person and . . . [required to] furnish copies thereof . . . ." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-6(a). However, the Public Records Law recognizes that the State's policy of allowing the people access to public records and information does not apply when exemptions from disclosure are "otherwise specifically provided by law." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1(b). The Public Records Law itself exempts from disclosure information which is "confidential." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1.2(4).

In Goble v. Bounds, 13 N.C. App. 579, 186 S.E.2d 638, aff'd, 281 N.C. 307, 188 S.E.2d 347 (1972), the North Carolina Court of Appeals interpreted N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 148-74 and 148-76 as establishing that all prison records are confidential and subject to inspection by only those persons specifically named in the statutes. In affirming the Court of Appeals' decision, the North Carolina Supreme Court also recognized the common law rule that "prison records of inmates are confidential and are not subject to inspection by the public nor the inmate concerned." Goble v. Bounds, 281 N.C. 307, 311, 188 S.E.2d 347, 350 (1972). Subsequent decisions of the State's appellate courts have reached the same conclusion. See Baugh v. Woodard, 56 N.C. App. 180, 287 S.E.2d 412 (1982) (prison records concerning an inmate's mental health treatment are confidential and not subject to inspection by the inmate concerned). Federal decisions are in accord. See Paine v. Baker, 595 F.2d 197 (4th Cir. 1979) (holding it was error for the district court to allow an inmate to inspect his prison file) cert. denied 444 U.S. 925 (1979); Franklin v. Shields, 569 F.2d 784 (4th Cir. 1978) (en banc) (holding prisoners have no constitutional right of access to their prison records) cert. denied, 435 U.S. 1003, 98 S.Ct. 1659, 56 L.Ed.2d 92 (1978).

Parole Commission records are properly considered prison records because they contain information about inmates in the custody of the Department of Correction or inmates conditionally released to the legal custody of the Parole Commission but under the direct supervision and control of the Department of Correction's Division of Adult Probation and Parole. Thus, the confidentiality provided to prison records has been extended by both the state and federal courts to parole records. See State v. Russell, 92 N.C. App. 639, 376 S.E.2d 458 (1989) (concluding that parole records are made confidential pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15-207); Ross v. Woodard, 683 F.2d 846 (4th Cir. 1982) (holding a potential parolee has no constitutional right of access to his parole file). Therefore, all correspondence, documents and records created or received by the Parole Commission in the performance of its duties, including those initially created or received by the Department of Correction but used by the Parole Commission, are confidential and do not have to be disclosed pursuant to the Public Records Law.

The question of who has the authority to disclose records created or received by the Parole Commission is answered more easily. Notwithstanding the confidential nature of parole records, both the Chairman of the Parole Commission and the Secretary of the Department of Correction have discretionary authority to disclose them. The Chairman, as the public official in charge of the Parole Commission, has the inherent authority to disclose the Commission's records provided disclosure is essential to maintaining the integrity of the Commission or to maintaining the level or quality of services provided by that governmental agency. The Secretary has statutory authority to disclose Parole Commission records pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15-207. See State v. Russell, 92 N.C. App. 639, 376 S.E.2d 458 (1989). Additionally, the Secretary may disclose Parole Commission records pursuant to his general supervisory authority over the Commission provided disclosure of the records or information is essential to maintaining the integrity of the Department of Correction or to maintaining the level or quality of services provided by the Department.

We trust this Advisory Opinion has been responsive to your inquiries.

William N. Farrell, Jr.
Senior Deputy Attorney General

W. Dale Talbert
Special Deputy Attorney General