Anyone with doubts about the value of open government need only look to Summerville, South Carolina, for assurance.
Because Summerville police and municipal court officials refused to release public information, citizens were unaware that a man who had been charged with rape was on bail, walking freely among them for five days.
They didn’t even know to be cautious. Continue…
[…]
We have to giggle just a little bit.
On one hand, it's amusing that a bunch of media organizations make a big deal anytime a group of leaders, lawmakers or politicians want to hole up for a meeting. Anyone who has ever been to a government meeting knows what a lonely, sleepy proposition that can be.
[…]
Read More… from Editorial: Montana Democrats did right by opening meeting
In a sharp attack on a longstanding limit of the home rule powers of the District of Columbia, former D.C. Attorney General Irving Nathan has called for local prosecution of serious crimes.
The 1973 law allowing some local autonomy for the District also kept some matters out of the hands of the new elected legislature, including changing anything about the longstanding prosecution duties of the U.S. Attorney here.
[…]
A Wisconsin bill that would increase compensation for people wrongly convicted of crimes has open records advocates worried over what it would do to court records.
The bipartisan bill from Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) and Rep. Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie) would help the wrongly convicted with up to $50,000 per year spent behind bars, plus transitional services and access to state health insurance.
[…]
Read More… from Aid for wrongfully convicted in Wisconsin could create open records problem
Imagine you live in Flint, Michigan, and it’s been your home for years.
You’ve just learned the drinking water the town has supplied for the past couple of years has been contaminated with lead. Yes, the water you used to shower and wash your dishes, the water your children drank and used to brush their teeth, tainted.
You want answers. Frankly, you deserve answers. Everyone deserves answers.
[…]
Read More… from Opinion: Flint water crisis a lesson for Colorado government email retention
Back when Terry Mutchler was spending late nights at The Daily Collegian or rushing across campus to make an 8 a.m. class, she never imagined she would someday return to speak at Penn State.
On Wednesday, the 1993 graduate, an expert in open government and freedom of information matters, returned to do just that.
Mutchler leads the transparency practice at Philadelphia’s Pepper Hamilton law firm. The firm is at the center of document issues in multiple lawsuits related to the Jerry Sandusky case.
[…]
Read More… from Pennsylvania open government expert discusses transparency, confidentiality
After a runaway oil train killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, just miles from the Maine border in 2013, Mainers demanded to know more about the state’s railways.
How much oil was moving through Maine? Which companies shipped it and along what routes? Was the government doing enough to keep communities safe?
[…]
Read More… from Maine rail cargo secrecy law bypassed public access, safety defenses
Republican lawmakers are pushing a bill that would allow them access to documents from closed John Doe investigations involving Gov. Scott Walker.
The bill would create a legislative committee with oversight of law enforcement, granting it subpoena power and the ability to access records from secret John Doe investigations once closed.
[…]
Read More… from Wisconsin lawmakers push committee to review John Doe investigations
Houston authorities declined this week to open up their case files on Victor Reyes, a Mexican national with a long criminal record whose 2015 shooting spree killed two and wounded three before he was killed by a police officer.
The move by Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman highlights the veil of secrecy hanging over the files of foreign nationals convicted of crimes — including the so-called “worst of the worst” that immigration authorities say remain a primary focus for deportation.
[…]
Read More… from Houston Sheriff still shielding killer’s record
Civil liberties advocates say one of two proposals to regulate police body cameras in Utah this year would give law enforcement too much leeway and would exempt videos of fatal shootings from open records laws.
The proposal, from Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, makes body camera footage a private government record if it shows "images of nudity, death or gruesome events," or was recorded while an officer is serving a search warrant or needed permission to enter a private location.
[…]
Read More… from Utah police camera bills differ on what to make public
