Maine’s judiciary has seen the sunlight: Court records will one day be available online. The decision announced by Chief Justice Leigh Saufley earlier this month stands to open blinds on parts of the state’s judiciary that are difficult to access, currently requiring journalists, activists and members of the public to travel to courthouses in each county to […]
Read More… from A boon for transparency in Maine’s court system
A state agency withheld a public record from the Bangor Daily News even as it emailed the same record to the state’s public access watchdog. Such unexplained instances of withholding records are “becoming the norm,” according to the attorney who helped write Maine’s freedom of access law. The small case over a simple record — […]
Read More… from Maine state agency holds back a simple record, flouting public access law
From Portland Press Herald: (Nov. 14, 2013) The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has ruled unanimously in favor of the Portland Press Herald’s appeal requesting authorities to release transcripts of 911 calls in a Biddeford murder case, opening the door on whether other 911 recordings are public record.
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Read More… from Maine Supreme Court ordered to release 911 transcripts in Biddeford murder case
From The Sacramento Bee: AUGUSTA, Maine — Before its public push to have Maine reconsider wind energy proposals, Gov. Paul LePage’s administration worked behind the scenes to explicitly derail Norwegian company Statoil’s multimillion-dollar agreement with the state for an offshore wind project, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
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Read More… from AP: Records show Maine gov. tried to jam wind plan
From Bangor Daily News: PORTLAND, Maine — Attorneys on opposite sides of a legal dispute over public access to 911 call transcripts suggested Monday that dangerous precedents could be set if their sides did not prevail.
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Read More… from Legal dispute over public access to 911 calls reaches Maine’s highest court
From seacoastonline.com: There is no law in New Hampshire, or Maine, that says police departments have to publish logs on a regular basis that itemize police activity.
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Read More… from Public has no legal right to police logs, say attorneys general
Augusta – The Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, a group of individuals and organizations that advocate for open government, is praising the funding for an office of Public Access Ombudsman in the Attorney General’s Office that was included in the supplemental budget Governor Paul LePage signed into law this week.[…]
Read More… from Public Access Ombudsman position gets funded 5 years after creation
