[Federal Register: October 31, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 212)]
[Notices]
[Page 64961-64964]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc08-87]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2008-0113]
Privacy Act of 1974; United States Coast Guard Courts Martial
Case Files System of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office; DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, and as part of the
Department of Homeland Security ongoing effort to review and update
legacy system of record notices the Department of Homeland Security is
giving notice that it proposes to consolidate two legacy record
systems: DOT/CG 507 Coast Guard Supplement to the Manual of Courts
Martial Investigations and DOT/CG 510 Records of Trial: Special,
General and Summary Courts Martial into a Department of Homeland
Security system of records notice titled, United States Coast Guard
Courts Martial Case Files. This system will be used by the United
States Coast Guard to collect and maintain records on military and
civilian employees of the United States Coast Guard who are tried by,
or involved with, court martial in the United States Coast Guard.
Categories of individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses
of these legacy system of records notices have been consolidated and
updated to better reflect the Department of Homeland Security/United
States Coast Guard's courts martial record systems. Concurrent with
this publication, the Department of Homeland Security is publishing a
notice of proposed rulemaking to exempt this system from certain
aspects of the Privacy Act. This system will be included in the
Department's inventory of record systems.
DATES: Submit comments on or before December 1, 2008. This new system
will be effective December 1, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2008-0113 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-866-466-5370.
Mail: Hugo Teufel III, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments
received will be posted without change and may be read at http://
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact:
David Roberts (202-475-3521), Privacy Officer, United States Coast
Guard. For privacy issues please contact: Hugo Teufel III (703-235-
0780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 64962]]
I. Background
Pursuant to the savings clause in the Homeland Security Act of
2002, Public Law 107-296, Section 1512, 116 Stat. 2310 (November 25,
2002), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/United States Coast
Guard (USCG) have relied on preexisting Privacy Act systems of records
notices for the collection and maintenance of records pertaining to
courts martial case files regarding the USCG military personnel.
As part of its efforts to streamline and consolidate its record
systems, DHS is establishing a component system of records under the
Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) for USCG that deals with courts martial
case files. This record system is titled, United States Coast Guard
Courts Martial Case Files, and is a compilation of two USCG legacy
SORNs: DOT/CG 507 Coast Guard Supplement to the Manual of Courts
Martial Investigations (65 FR 19476 April 11, 2000) and DOT/CG 510
Records of Trial: Special, General and Summary Courts Martial (65 FR
19476 April 11, 2000). This records system will allow DHS/USCG to
collect and maintain records regarding military justice administration
and documentation of DHS/USCG court martial.
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, DHS is giving notice
that it proposes to consolidate two legacy record systems: DOT/CG 507
Coast Guard Supplement to the Manual of Courts Martial Investigations
(65 FR 19476 April 11, 2000) and DOT/CG 510 Records of Trial: Special,
General and Summary Courts Martial (65 FR 19476 April 11, 2000) into a
DHS system of records notice titled, United States Coast Guard Courts
Martial Case Files. This system will be used by DHS/USCG to collect and
maintain records on USCG active duty, reserve, and retired active duty
and retired reserve military personnel and other individuals who are
tried by, or involved with, court martial in the USCG. Categories of
individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses of these
legacy system of records notices have been consolidated and updated to
better reflect the DHS/USCG's courts martial record systems. Concurrent
with this publication, the Department of Homeland Security is
publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking to exempt this system from
certain aspects of the Privacy Act. This system will be included in the
Department's inventory of record systems.
II. Privacy Act
The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory
framework governing the means by which the United States Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act,
an individual is defined to encompass United States citizens and legal
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and
visitors. Individuals may request access to their own records that are
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the
control of DHS by complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR
Part 5.
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that are
contained in each system in order to make agency record keeping
practices transparent, to notify individuals regarding the uses of
their records, and to assist individuals to more easily find such files
within the agency. Below is the description of the United States Coast
Guard Courts Martial Files System of Records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and
to Congress.
System of Records:
DHS/USCG-008.
System name:
United States Coast Guard Courts Martial Case Files.
Security classification:
Unclassified.
System location:
Records are maintained at the United States Coast Guard
Headquarters in Washington, DC, and in field offices.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Categories of individuals covered by this system include all USCG
active duty, reserve, and retired active duty and retired reserve
military personnel and other individuals who are tried by, or involved
with, court martial.
Categories of records in the system:
Categories of records in this system include:
Individual's name;
Social Security number;
Employee identification number;
Date of birth;
Addresses;
E-mail address;
Telephone numbers;
Job-related information including: Job title, rank, duty
station, supervisor's name and telephone number; and
Records of trial (contents are in accordance with Article
54 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Rule for Court Martial
1103 which includes charge sheet, exhibits, transcript of trial,
sentencing report, arguments, and various other documents).
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5 U.S.C. 301; The Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; 14 U.S.C.
93(e), 632; 10 U.S.C. 815; 10 U.S.C. 865; E.O. 11835; DHS Delegation
0170.1.
Purpose(s):
The purpose of this system is to document courts martial case files
relating to the all USCG active duty, reserve, and retired active duty
and retired reserve military personnel and other individuals who are
tried by, or involved with, court martial.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
Courts martial records reflect criminal proceedings ordinarily open
to the public; therefore, they are normally releasable to the public
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. In addition to those
disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy
Act, all or a portion of the records of information contained in this
system may be disclosed outside DHS as a routine use pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To the Department of Justice (including United States Attorney
Offices) or other Federal agency conducting litigation or in
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body when
it is necessary to the litigation and one of the following is a party
to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
1. DHS or any component thereof;
2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
[[Page 64963]]
3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
4. The United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the
litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines
that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and
the use of such records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS
collected the records.
B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
C. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other
Federal government agencies pursuant to records management inspections
being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 2904 and
2906.
D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or
oversight function.
E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been
compromised;
2. The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected
or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the
individual who relies upon the compromised information; and
3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants,
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant,
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
G. To an appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, international,
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal,
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and
consistent with the official duties of the person making the
disclosure.
H. To an appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign, or
international agency, if the information is relevant and necessary to a
requesting agency's decision concerning the hiring or retention of an
individual, or issuance of a security clearance, license, contract,
grant, or other benefit, or if the information is relevant and
necessary to a DHS decision concerning the hiring or retention of an
employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an
investigation of an employee, the letting of a contract, or the
issuance of a license, grant or other benefit and when disclosure is
appropriate to the proper performance of the official duties of the
person making the request.
I. To provide statistical data concerning the number of proceedings
held, units holding proceedings, offenses committed, punishments
imposed, and background data of individuals concerned.
J. To the Veterans Administration (VA) to assist USCG in
determining the individual's entitlement to benefits administered by
the VA.
K. To the confinement facility, if confinement is adjudged, and the
confinement facility is not USCG facility.
L. To victims and witnesses of a crime for purposes of providing
information, consistent with the requirements of the Victim and Witness
Assistance Program, regarding the investigation and disposition of an
offense pursuant to USCG Military Justice Manual, Article 4.B.1.d and
subject to any restrictions provided by the Victim and Witness
Protection Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-291).
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
None.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records
can be stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.
Retrievability:
Records will be retrieved alphabetically by the name of the
individual.
Safeguards:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated
system security access policies. Strict controls have been imposed to
minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being stored.
Access to the computer system containing the records in this system is
limited to those individuals who have a need to know the information
for the performance of their official duties and who have appropriate
clearances or permissions.
Retention and disposal:
All General Courts Martial and Special Courts Martial records
involving Bad Conduct Discharge are permanent. Transfer to FRC 2 years
after date of final action. Transfer to NARA 10 years after final
action. (AUTH: NC1-26-76-2, Item 384a). Special Courts Martial other
than those involving Bad Conduct Discharges are temporary. Transfer to
FRC 2 years after date of final action. Destroy 10 years after date of
final action. (AUTH: NC1-26-76-2, Item 384b). Summary Courts Martial
convened after 5 May 1950 are Temporary. Transfer to FRC 2 years after
date of final action. Destroy 10 years after date of final action.
(AUTH: NC1-26-76-2, Item 384c(1)). (Records Officer)
System Manager and address:
Commandant, CG-0946, United States Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100
2nd Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001.
Notification procedure:
Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content,
may submit a request in writing to Commandant, CG-0946, Office of
Military Justice, United States Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 2nd
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other USCG system of records your request must conform with the
Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR Part 5. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under
28
[[Page 64964]]
U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty of
perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Director,
Disclosure and FOIA, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition
you should provide the following:
An explanation of why you believe the Department would
have information on you,
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created,
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without this bulleted information the USCG may not be able to
conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack
of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.
Record access procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Contesting record procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Record source categories:
USCG investigating officers, military, and civilian personnel.
Individual service records from proceedings conducted. Trial
proceedings and subsequent statutory reviews--Court of Military Review,
Court of Appeals for the Armed Services, and Chief Counsel of the USCG.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
Pursuant to exemption 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) of the Privacy Act,
portions of this system are exempt from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) and (4);
(d); (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I), (e)(5)
and (e)(8); (f), and (g). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1) and (k)(2),
this system is exempt from the following provisions of the Privacy Act,
subject to the limitations set forth in those subsections: 5 U.S.C.
552a (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I), and (f).
Dated: October 22, 2008.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-25964 Filed 10-30-08; 8:45 am]
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