# Exemption Analysis and Redaction Support

Public records exemptions exist to protect legitimate interests — personal privacy, law enforcement operations, attorney-client privilege, trade secrets, and the deliberative process. Applying these exemptions correctly is one of the most legally consequential decisions a government employee makes: under-redacting risks privacy violations and litigation, while over-redacting undermines transparency and invites accusations of cover-up.

Common Exemption Categories

Most public records laws recognize similar exemption categories. AI can be trained to flag content that likely falls into each:

EXEMPTION FLAGGING GUIDE
Review the following documents and flag content that may be exempt under:

1. PERSONAL PRIVACY: Social Security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses,
   personal phone numbers, medical information, financial account numbers,
   personal email addresses of non-public-facing employees
2. LAW ENFORCEMENT: Active investigation details, informant identities,
   surveillance techniques, undercover officer identities, case strategies
3. ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE: Communications between government attorneys
   and their agency clients seeking or providing legal advice
4. DELIBERATIVE PROCESS: Draft documents, internal policy discussions,
   pre-decisional recommendations (but NOT final decisions or factual summaries)
5. TRADE SECRETS: Proprietary business information submitted by companies
   in licensing, permitting, or contracting processes
6. SECURITY: Building security plans, IT vulnerability assessments,
   critical infrastructure details, emergency response capabilities

For each flagged item:
- Quote or describe the specific content
- Identify which exemption category applies
- Rate confidence level (High/Medium/Low)
- Note if the content might be partially exempt (some information releasable,
  some exempt within the same passage)