open records – Page 17 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Colorado Supreme Court: Legal fees can be reimbursed in records challenges

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The Colorado Supreme Court has sided with open-government advocates in a case over records and court costs. The court ruled 5-2 Monday that people who win open-records lawsuits can be reimbursed for legal fees — even if they win access to only some of the records.

The case stemmed from a 2006 open-records request from the Colorado Republican Party to some Democratic state lawmakers. The GOP wanted to see results from a public survey, and a court later ruled that some but not all of the surveys were subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.

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NY AG Schneiderman dodges open-records law

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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has championed greater transparency for government and groups in his cross-hairs during his three-plus years as the state's top law enforcement official. But when it comes to his own dealings with a powerful political consultant and close adviser, Mr. Schneiderman is shielding them from public view—under legal reasoning some leading experts say is clearly wrong.

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Iowa’s largest paper tries to shift the state’s culture toward transparency

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In its own polite, Midwestern fashion, The Des Moines Register is mad as heck and is not going to take it anymore. After Iowa officials refused to release records showing alleged abuses by state employees, the paper is pursuing dual lawsuits to force the records into public view. In one case, the Register is even suing the state’s new public information board, formed expressly to address years of complaints about records transparency.

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Mount Pleasant (MI) cites FOIA while withholding city manager finalist names

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Mount Pleasant city officials announced last week that commissioners will interview finalists for the vacant city manager position on June 24. City officials still have not released the names of the finalists, even after receiving a formal request under Michigan’s public records law by Central Michigan Life.

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Alaska Senate Passes Bill To Limit Access To Certain Court Records

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Sen. Fred Dyson’s bill would make it so all criminal cases that result in a dismissal or an acquittal are considered confidential. They won’t appear on the Internet, and you won’t be able to access them at the courthouse unless you are a state worker who deals with child welfare.

The Eagle River Republican presented it on the Senate floor as a justice issue. “This one is about Amendments Four and Five: privacy and due process,” said Dyson, referencing the United States Constitution.

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Comcast obeyed over 24,000 government data requests last year

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W.Va. Supreme Court to hear Nitro FOIA case

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Attorneys for the city of Nitro will argue Monday before the West Virginia Supreme Court that a circuit judge erred by not allowing the city to charge $25 an hour to look up information to fulfill Freedom of Information Act requests.

In 2009, the Nitro City Council approved an ordinance charging citizens $25 an hour if it took city officials more than 10 minutes to look up information to comply with FOIA requests. The fee was supposed to compensate the city for the time it took to collect the requested information.

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City officials may be financially liable in open meetings lawsuit

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Clinton city (IA) officials and former city officials involved in a lawsuit filed by a citizen’s group over closed meeting records are being advised they could be personally liable if there are any penalties or attorney’s fees levied in the case.

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No Open Records bills in store in South Dakota legislative session

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Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Attorney General Marty Jackley will not reprise last year’s largely ineffective efforts to increase public access to government records.

South Dakota lawmakers shot down five of the eight open government bills Daugaard and Jackley presented with help from a summer work group last year, including what would have been the most significant reforms. This year, neither man has those failed bills on his legislative agenda.

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NFOIC NR – Seattle-area Housing Authority completes settlement of 2013 Open Records and Open Meetings Lawsuit

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Melissa MacGowan, Administrator

NATIONAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COALITION

101E Reynolds Journalism Institute

Columbia, MO 65211

(573) 882-4856 · macgowanm@missouri.edu

Supported by a grant from the Knight Foundation, the suit’s settlement

includes training from state’s Sunshine group

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