From Bennington Banner: RUTLAND (AP) — The Vermont Supreme Court on Friday upheld a lower court ruling giving the Rutland Herald newspaper access to records connected to an investigation into the Rutland city police officers who were disciplined for viewing and sending pornography at work.
The justices denied an appeal by the city, which raised concerns about the privacy rights of city employees.
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From VtDigger.org: Vermont’s public records law is rife with exemptions, but last spring the Legislature lifted one that had kept locks on all records relating to criminal investigations.
A committee of lawmakers, given the task of inventorying all 245 exemptions during a three-year period, revisited that change Friday, three months after it took effect.
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Read More… from New access to criminal investigation records assessed by Vermont lawmakers
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. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.
Private prison firm CCA defends record on transparency in Vt.
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From VTDigger.org: The Vermont ACLU is suing the nation’s largest private prison company for allegedly ignoring public records requests about Vermont prisoners.
The question at the heart of the lawsuit is whether or not the state’s public records act can be applied to a private corporation that is performing duties for a public agency. Vermont ACLU attorney Dan Barrett says he’s confident it can.
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Read More… from Vermont ACLU sues private prison company over public records
From VTDigger.org:
No one who believes in government transparency and accountability is cheering the Vermont Supreme Court’s recent decision that police investigation records are “permanently and categorically” exempt from the public’s eye.
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