Access / FOIA
D.C. Circuit Reinforces FOIA’s Foreseeable Harm Requirement
Stephen Stich MatchThe statute now generally requires agencies to show both that an exemption applies and that disclosure would cause recognized harm. But despite being on the books for eight years, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling is only one of a handful to grapple with the requirement.
Investigative Reporter Wins Access to California Official’s Calendar Entries
Steve ZansbergOn March 5, Judge Chang issued a Final Ruling, in a case under California’s Public Records Act, granting a Writ of Mandate that commands Governor Gavin Newsom to release the calendar entries of all meetings between his Cabinet Secretary and any representative of Pacific Gas & Electric in May 2023.
FOIA Case for Records Could Mean Mexican Journalist Finally Wins Asylum in U.S.
Adam A. Marshall and Chuck TobinA federal FOIA case could be the key to a successful resolution of a Mexican journalist’s and his son’s decades-long fight for permanent U.S. asylum after fleeing their home country.
Virginia Media Win Access to Report on School Shooting
David B. Lacy and Harley J. McClellanThe Circuit Court held that the Virginia Freedom of Information Act required disclosure of a school board’s investigation report into a graduation shooting even though a law firm conducted the investigation and prepared the report.
Ohio Supreme Court Finds Amusement Park’s Private Police Force Is Subject to Public Records Law
Ryan W. GoellnerThe television stations’ requests first required analysis of a novel issue under Ohio law: whether a private police department created pursuant to a city ordinance and by agreement between the amusement park and the city was subject to Ohio’s Public Records Act.
“Unsubstantiated” Complaints About Police Are Not Categorically Exempt from FOIL Disclosure
Alia SmithNew York’s Second Department held that police disciplinary records, formerly shielded from public disclosure under the now-repealed Civil Rights Law Section 50-a, are not categorically exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law’s privacy exemption.
Florida Supreme Court Rules Marsy’s Law Does Not Protect Victims’ Names
Daniela Abratt-Cohen and Mark R. CaramanicaThe Court’s ruling, which certainly could have taken a narrower path, was not only a victory for police transparency but also a wider victory in beating back overzealous application of Marsy’s Law protections.
Discovery Order Leads to 8,000 New Pages of Documents in FOIA Lawsuit
Eric WeslanderA FOIA lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri recently led to the discovery of 8,000-plus pages of hospital survey materials that the requesters were previously told could not be found.
Colorado Court Holds That Public Officials’ Text Messages on Cell Phones are Public Records
Steve ZansbergJudge Scoville’s ruling joined numerous other state courts in finding that text messages of public employees housed on personal cell phones are not outside the statutory definition of “public records” merely because they were never transferred to any government entity’s servers for storage and retrieval.
Telephone Records Showing County Jail Snooping on Private Attorney-Client Phone Calls Ruled Public Records in Maine
Sigmund D. Schutz and Alex HarrimanIn a recent win, the Maine Monitor secured a Superior Court order establishing that public records law requires disclosure of reports showing whether jails have recorded privileged telephone calls between jail inmates and their attorneys.