Access / FOIA
Ninth Circuit Considers Public Access to Decades-Old Wiretap Records
Alexander Song and Brooke HendersonThe Ninth Circuit now has a rare opportunity to address whether decades old wiretaps can be unsealed by a news organization under Title III’s “good cause” standard for disclosure, and whether the First Amendment right of access extends to sealed wiretap records after an investigation has closed in its review of In re Petition of…
Tennessee Supreme Court Orders Unsealing of Judicial Disqualification Records and Adopts Compelling-Interest Standard for First Amendment Right of Access
Paul McAdoo and Claudia Liss-SchultzThough the opinion is not a slam dunk—notably, the Court incorporated aspects of the “good cause” standard for protective orders into its compelling-interest analysis—it is nonetheless an important win for access rights in the state.
Washington Post Wins Access to Police Use of Force Records
Marietta CatsambasThe court reaffirmed the Maryland Public Information Act’s broad disclosure mandate and held that certain police use-of-force records, including records of highly publicized incidents involving force against members of the public, were subject to disclosure.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Issues Landmark Decision Requiring Public Access to Jail Altercation Video that Led to Inmate’s Death
Anna Kaul and Kaitlin GurneyThe Supreme Court of Oklahoma, in two decisions issued in November 2025 and March 2026, held that public trusts operating detention centers do not qualify as law enforcement agencies under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, and therefore are not entitled to more limited disclosure requirements.
Arizona Trial Court Denies Motions to Dismiss The Intercept’s Suit Seeking Government Surveillance Records
Heather MurrayThe suit could have significant implications for the press and the public’s ability to access public records stored with entities performing a governmental function.
Ohio Supreme Court Won’t Let Trial Judge Dim the Lights on Courtroom Coverage
Griffin R. Reyelts and Melissa L. WattThe case arose from the media's coverage of high-profile trials of former FirstEnergy Corp. executives Charles Jones and Mike Dowling, who were charged for their alleged roles in a 2019 Ohio House Bill 6 bribery scandal.
Tennessee Court Expands Access to Executions for Media Witnesses Based on the First Amendment and State Law
Claudia Liss-Schultz and Allyson VeileA Tennessee trial court joined the Ninth Circuit and the Middle District of Pennsylvania in holding that there is a First Amendment right of access to executions.
January 6, 2021: Saving the Truth from the Whitewash
Lauren Russell, Chuck Tobin, and Max MishkinBefore, the work for the coalition was about providing contemporaneous access to the evidence. Now, the mission pivoted to preserving history, making sure the truth about January 6 is never capsized in the waves of propaganda.
Ohio Supreme Court Rules That On-Duty Police Can Be Crime Victims Under ‘Marcy’s Law’
Jack GreinerThe majority opinion rejected The Dispatch's arguments that voters who approved the Constitutional amendment would not have understood the amendment to cover police officers acting in the line of duty.
Texas Supreme Court Narrows Available Relief Under the Public Information Act
David HelsleyThe ruling significantly narrows the enforcement mechanism of the TPIA and raises new questions about access to public records held by Texas’s most powerful elected officials.