Access / FOIA
“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York’s Second Department held that police disciplinary records, formerly shielded from public disclosure under the now-repealed Civil Rights Law Section 50-a, are not categorically exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law’s privacy exemption.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.
Utah State Records Panel Rules that Public Universities Must Disclose NIL Contracts
Jeffrey J. Hunt and Maria J. DeMarcoA government body — perhaps for the first time — has ruled that name, image, and likeness contracts that college athletes submit to public universities are public records and not protected from disclosure under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The Critical Importance of Televising the Trump Trials
George FreemanIt’s hard to believe that one-quarter of the way through the 21st century, with Americans spending more time looking at screens than ever before, the criminal trials of a former President and a leading candidate to be our next President will not be televised.
North Carolina Court Holds Records in Possession of Third-Party Contractor Subject to Public Records Disclosure Requirements
Lauren Russell and Kaitlin GurneyThe court also held that even though requestor, Charlotte television station WBTV, received the records before a final ruling on the merits, it was entitled to recover its attorneys’ fees under North Carolina’s public records law mandating fee awards to claimants who substantially prevail in compelling disclosure of public records.
Washington Post Wins Suit Seeking Disciplinary Records of Former LGBTQ and Community Policing Liaison with History of Excessive Force
Margaret N. Strouse, Maxwell S. Mishkin, and Chuck TobinIn an important victory for police transparency, DC Superior Court Judge Maurice A. Ross granted the Post’s motion for summary judgment, rejected the District’s arguments for withholding the records under FOIA’s privacy exemption, and ruled that the Post should be awarded its attorney’s fees.
Colorado Lawmakers Commit to Stop Auto-Deleting Instant Messages with Other Lawmakers
Steve ZansbergThe directive is the first in the nation to expressly prohibit legislators from using so-called “ephemeral messaging” apps when discussing public business.