Government Records

Texas Supreme Court Narrows Available Relief Under the Public Information Act

The 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

Looking 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

In 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

The 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.

Florida Court Denies Sheriff’s Motion to Close Courtroom

The Court found that the Sheriff had “failed to articulate any basis … to shield the video from public view or to exclude the media from the pretrial detention hearing.”

Right to Access Juvenile Records Blooms in Ohio Supreme Court

In a recent case, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that an Ohio statute that mandated sealing the records of a juvenile proceeding upon a finding of non-delinquency violated the Open Courts provision of the Ohio Constitution.

Government Contractors Must Respond to Public Record Requests, Georgia Supreme Court Rules

On August 13, 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously reaffirmed the public’s right under Georgia law to demand records from state and local agencies’ private contractors.

Copyright Law Used to Deny Access to Covenant School Shooter’s Manifesto

Court Orders D.C. Police to Produce Thousands of Records About Monitoring Citizens’ Social Media Accounts

The MPD produced more than 160,000 records totaling roughly 700,000 pages, which shed significant light on how MPD keeps tabs on citizens, including those engaged in lawful protest activity, through its monitoring of social media accounts. The District also agreed to pay $400,000 in attorneys’ fees.

American Survivors of Israel’s Deadly 1967 Attack on the U.S.S. Liberty Still Seek Answers

Kinnucan’s lawsuit forced the disclosure of hundreds of documents previously withheld by the government for decades. But NSA has repeatedly stalled and even unilaterally decided to “reprocess” her request after briefing on the case had commenced in the Ninth Circuit. The reason for the delay seems clear; time is running out.