Author: NFOIC

Nine Vermont municipalities, including Northfield and Shrewsbury, are being sued because of a claim they have been prohibiting or restricting access to public government records, citing COVID-19 concerns, according to a lawsuit filed in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington. The lawsuit has major statewide implications because the final ruling could impact how taxpayers can get […]

Read More… from Lawsuit claims Vermont towns restricted public records

When America’s state legislators begin meeting for their 2021 sessions, the blunt fact is that many of them won’t be meeting at all. They will be sitting at Zoom screens, talking on their iPhones and looking for other ways to simulate the bill-writing and deal-making that they are supposed to do face-to-face. Not all the […]

Read More… from Can a virtual legislature be a real legislature?

In a move that heralds a new era of greater citizen access to government, the Forest Park City Council, the Downtown Development Authority, the Development Authority, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority have voted to install a professional, state-of-the-art audiovisual system that should allow residents to watch and hear council proceedings clearly. The move comes following […]

Read More… from Georgia town council, boards vote to upgrade meeting livestreams

The death of Shirley Abrahamson, the longest-serving Wisconsin Supreme Court justice in state history and the first woman to serve on the high court, prompted us to share this tribute written in July 2019 by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council: As Justice Shirley Abrahamson ends her tenure on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, after 43 […]

Read More… from Wisconsin Supreme Court justice leaves legacy of government transparency

The Colorado Supreme Court’s adoption Thursday of a statewide standard for sealing or suppressing court records in criminal cases “is an extremely positive development that increases transparency and builds public trust in our judicial branch,” said Steve Zansberg, a First Amendment attorney and president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. When Rule 55.1 goes into effect […]

Read More… from Colorado judicial branch sets new standard for sealing, suppressing criminal court records

\Whistleblower Network News hosted a webinar Dec. 14 on how to effectively use the Freedom of Information Act. The webinar featured leading whistleblower lawyer Stephen M. Kohn, who is a founding partner of whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto as well as the Chairman of the Board of the National Whistleblower Center. During the course of his career Kohn has […]

Read More… from Whistleblower lawyer leads webinar on use of Freedom of Information Act

According to legal experts, a new bill filed by Kentucky State Rep. John Blanton would “turn open records upside down.” And if enacted, it would make it illegal for any web site to use the name of any current or former judge, prosecutor, or law enforcement official, or the names of their immediate family members – […]

Read More… from New bill jeopardizes Kentucky open records laws

A federal appeals court ruled this week that people have the right to surreptitiously record police officers at work in “public spaces” such as parks, agreeing with two local activists that the First Amendment takes precedence over a Massachusetts state law banning private recording in that circumstance. At the same time, however, the US Court […]

Read More… from Mass. residents can secretly record police in public places, court rules

MIDLAND, Mich. — The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan for violation of the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The school refused to provide a significant portion of documents requested concerning the science and data used to support the state’s lockdown orders. When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the […]

Read More… from Mackinac Center sues University of Michigan for COVID documents

The expected D.C. Freedom of Information Act changes passed uneventfully in a marathon session December 1, the next-to-last legislative meeting of the current Council. An emergency law good for 90 days passed with the one required reading. A similar temporary counterpart lasting 225 days passed as well and will get its second vote at the last session December 15. The Council […]

Read More… from D.C. council votes to restore FOIA processing deadlines