Government Records
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.
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.
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.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Order Compelling Release of Contractor Diversity Reports
Brooke HendersonLooking forward, as more government work continues to be outsourced to federal contractors, this ruling provides media attorneys with another path when litigating Exemption 4 cases: commerciality is the new battleground. The Ninth Circuit proved that records must be more than simply “related to” a business to pass the threshold test of Exemption 4.
Nevada Supreme Court Stops Las Vegas PD’s “Reverse-Records Actions” To Drag Requesters Into Court
Benjamin Z. LipmanIn a case pitting LVMPD against the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the ACLU of Nevada, the Nevada Supreme Court recently held governmental entities cannot sue requesters in such “reverse-records actions.”
New Jersey Supreme Court Ensures Body-Worn Camera Video Access
CJ GriffinThe first New Jersey Supreme Court decision interpreting the state’s new Body-Worn Camera Law scales back prior case law that limited access to criminal investigation records and provides clarity regarding some of the law’s provisions.