Thanks to Oscar-nominated filmmakers and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, moviegoers got a glimpse of back room horse trading that made the 13th Amendment possible. Today, the parameters of privileges and exemptions that allow pre-decisional secrecy, and withholding of unfinished drafts, are frequent topics of debate, even litigation. Can today's worst actors who stretch those limits claim they are standing on the shoulders of giants? How much access does transparent government demand? How much confidential counsel does it permit?
Panelists include: Michael Reitz, executive vice president, Mackinac Center for Public Policy; Terry Ryder, attorney.
Moderated by: Linda Lightfoot, executive editor (ret.), The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate.
Speakers' biographies
The FOI Summit, a national conference concentrating on open government convened anually in collaboration with the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), was held Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18, at the Renaissance Arts Hotel in New Orleans.
Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana was the state-based co-host for this year’s Summit.
Please visit our 2013 FOI Summit homepage for more information and coverage.