A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week:
Dewey Beach (Del.) citizens question legality of development vote
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Read More… from NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for August 10, 2012
From Dallas Morning News:
The Dallas Morning News has asked the state attorney general’s office to investigate the Dallas Police Department for possible violations of state open-records laws.
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Read More… from Texas attorney general asked to investigate Dallas police record handling
From Journal Sentinel Online:
Who should bear the cost of censoring Milwaukee police reports requested by the media under Wisconsin's public records law?
Lawyers for the city and the Journal Sentinel argued both sides of that question Tuesday before the state Supreme Court, whose decision on the matter could have a significant impact on government accountability reporting.
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Read More… from Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee argue public records law case at Supreme Court
State Attorney General Scott Pruitt has written a letter to the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police about complaints that police departments are violating the Open Records Act by withholding public information from initial incident reports.
“The state Legislature has made it clear in this regard that a police department's initial offense report or cover sheet should be open for public inspection, regardless of its inclusion in an investigation file,” Pruitt wrote in his Jan. 4 letter.
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Read More… from Attorney general tells Oklahoma chiefs of police that information is public
From The Republic:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office says police disciplinary records can be released under the state's open records law, a decision that factors into an alleged instance of excessive force involving an off-duty Little Rock police officer.
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A few items selected from many of interest that we might not have drawn attention to earlier:
Obama administration makes some transparency gains; challenges remain
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and OpenTheGovernment.org released a joint report, Measuring Transparency Under the FOIA: The Real Story Behind the Numbers, analyzing the government’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) data for 2010 and how it compares to the previous administration’s data.
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From Arkansas Times Blog:
The Arkansas Supreme Court today granted an emergency stay sought by the city of Little Rock to block Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen's order that it release information about Police Lt. David Hudson's history of use of force. That record is being sought by Keith Hall, defense lawyer for a man punched repeatedly in the face by Hudson before an arrest at Ferneau restaurant.
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Read More… from Arkansas Supreme Court stays FOI ruling on police force records
