Alabama

Alabama's Public Records Law is silent as to the manner of making the request. In most instances, it is sufficient to make the request initially in person or by telephone. If appropriate, the agency to which the request is made may — but is not required to — give the requested information by telephone. 223 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 16 (April 18, 1991).

There is no statutory or case law addressing this issue.

Inapt; Alabama has no administrative forum for consideration of Alabama Open Meetings Act challenges.

Overview

Alabama

Although Alabama courts have not specifically addressed whether appellate proceedings are open, the Supreme Court of Alabama’s decision in Balogun (indicating that judicial “proceedings” are open) should extend to appellate proceedings.

Overview

Alabama

(This section is blank. See the subpoints below.)

The subpoenaed information must be highly relevant to a claim or defense in the underlying litigation and there must be compelling need for the disclosure. Norandal USA, Inc. v. Local Union No. 7468, No.: CV-86-136, 13 Med. L. Rptr. 2167 (Jackson County, Ala. Cir. Ct., Sept. 11, 1986). A compelling interest or need has been defined as "going to the very heart of the matter." Id. In Cowan v. Community Home Banc, Inc., No.: CV-01-4028, 31 Med. L. Rptr. 2498, 2501 (Jefferson County, Ala. Cir. Ct., Feb.

Inapt; Alabama has no provision for administrative appeal from denial of access to public records.

The State of Alabama has a website at http://www.alabama.gov. The State Agencies portion of the site (http://info.alabama.gov/) has links to websites for over 200 State departments and agencies.  The content of these sites varies a great deal, from public relations and descriptive information about the particular agency or department to more substantive information, e.g., maps, statistics, and resource material and citations. There is no fee for these sites.

Public records that are available on-line with a fee charge include the following:

The Alabama Open Meetings Act is enforced by civil action and does not provide for any fines. See Ala. Code § 36-25A-9 (Supp. 2005).