A west Georgia court is jailing people illegally and then making it impossible for them to challenge the violation of their rights by denying them access to their public court records, a lawsuit alleges.
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Read More… from Lawsuit: Georgia Court Denying Records’ Access, Violates Law
A Cook County judge this week set a rolling schedule for the Chicago Police Department to release documents related to fatal police-involved shootings going back to Jan. 1, 2011.
Monday’s decision from Circuit Judge Kathleen G. Kennedy builds off a Sept. 16 ruling which ordered CPD to release the records — including audio and video recordings — the Better Government Association sought in a Freedom of Information Act request.
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The New England First Amendment Coalition, a leading voice in the region for the protection of press freedoms and access to public records, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
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The government serves the people of Oklahoma and the law says the people have a right to know how and why the government makes its decisions.
“That means being able to look at records and if we see government doing something we don't think it ought to be doing, reacting to that and that means at the ballot box,” said Brady Henderson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. The ACLU of Oklahoma is representing two groups suing Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin for failing to provide records under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
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Read More… from OK: Judge will decide if governor justified in 900+ day delay in records cases
In one of the biggest legal battles over government transparency in New Jersey, the state Supreme Court is poised to determine how much information the public receives in the hours and days after police officers use fatal force.
A key question in the case is whether law enforcement agencies must release records that name police officers who use fatal force in the line of duty. Another is whether dashboard-camera videos of such incidents are public or confidential.
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Read More… from NJ: Justices weigh public’s right to know in fatal cop encounters
The Mississippi Supreme Court will consider a dispute over public access to records from a state agency.
The dispute started in late 2012, when the Sun Herald requested records from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
After the newspaper made its request, state Auditor Stacey Pickering subpoenaed the same documents and took possession of them. Pickering's staff said the records were part of an investigative file and could not be released.
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Read More… from Mississippi high court to consider public records dispute
This week, WFAE’s Lisa Worf has taken listeners through the process of seeking a court order to compel Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department to release video of a police shooting.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Eric Levinson denied the request. WFAE's petition was the first in Mecklenburg County under a new law known as House Bill 972.
As of Oct. 1, it’s no longer up to police departments to release video. Instead, anyone who wants body and dash cam video released must go through the court system.
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Read More… from NC: Judge Denies WFAE Journalist’s Petition for Police Shooting Video
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 976, which would curtail public access to police body camera video and force anyone who wants access to go through a court process, has reached the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee after passing the Republican-controlled Senate last month.
Senators passed the bill 45-5 to change the state's Wiretap Act to allow police to wear body cameras into private homes and public spaces without having to explicitly inform everyone they encounter that they are wearing a camera.
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Read More… from Pa. Attorney: Bill increasing police body cams shouldn’t limit access to records
“Glomar” rejections, as they are known, are mostly issued by federal agencies like the CIA on requests about black ops programs or operations gone wrong, and they have a tight legal scope. Those infamous words, “we can neither confirm nor deny,” are only supposed to come out when national security is at risk, or if someone’s name appearing or not appearing in a law enforcement document would have a ruinous effect on that person’s life or character.
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Read More… from Maine State Police “can neither confirm nor deny” use of cellphone surveillance
Join VCOG for a variety of panels, speakers and discussions on the most newsworthy topics of the day, including: government use of social media, legislative privilege, information in the age of Madison, proactive disclosure and more.
Further details:
ACCESS '16
James Madison's Montpelier
December 8, 2016
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (exact schedule to be determined)
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Read More… from Virginia Coalition for Open Government to host Access 2016
