Louisiana

The U.S. Department of Justice reaffirmed in a letter this week that public meetings are open to the press, after accusations that one of its attorneys told a Louisiana reporter that he could not quote or record her during a public meeting, citing "special rules."

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that a civil lawsuit can continue against a Louisiana police chief and four officers accused of violating a former officer's constitutional rights. The court declined to dismiss the civil rights case against the officers who arrested the police veteran for criticizing the chief in email messages to a local newspaper.

Court records in a Louisiana parish relating to sex crimes are now open to the public, after years of being under blanket seal.

Previously, no criminal court records involving allegations of sexual assault or abuse were available to the public, per oral order of the judges in the 27th judicial district, said Charles Jagneaux, St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court.

This secrecy was problematic for public safety and awareness reasons, Jagneaux said.

A New Orleans area politician is suing for defamation and embarrassment caused by anonymous, online comments made on NOLA.com, TheTimes-Picayune reported.

Steve Theriot, the interim president of Jefferson Parish, which is part of the metropolitan New Orleans area, claims the comments made on the site were made with "malice and a blatant, intentional disregard for the truth."

The state law that controls the applicability of public-records laws to the Louisiana governor's office has been amended several times in the past few years and some state senators say it's moving in the wrong direction, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate reported.

A newspaper is counter-suing a Louisiana parish after its deputy attorney asked a court for a protective order to stop the release of public records related to a federal investigation and state ethics inquiry,The Times-Picayune reported.

A Louisiana parish sued two news media outlets last week, asking the court for a protective order to keep public records that are also being reviewed in a state ethics inquiry confidential.

A bill that would alter access to the Louisiana governor's official records received final approval from the state Senate Monday, and is on its way to the governor's desk.

The public records law now exempts from disclosure all but the financial records the governor's office maintains. Under the proposed change, the only exempt records would be those pertaining to the governor's security, schedule, communications among staff and "executive deliberations and work product."