Public records

A city councilwoman in New Jersey has taken her records fight against the Hoboken City Hall to the state Supreme Court.

Councilwoman Beth Mason’s suit raises two questions regarding New Jersey's Open Public Records Act: how long a person has to wait to file a lawsuit if a records request is not fulfilled, and whether a plaintiff should be awarded attorney's fees if requested documents are provided after a lawsuit is filed, but before a court decision is made.

A bill to make government records more open to the public passed the South Dakota state Senate, but was killed by one vote on Wednesday in the House State Affairs Committee.

SB 189 was introduced by state Sen. Nancy Turbak Berry and stated that both state and local government documents are open to the public unless explicitly sealed by state law. 

Critics said the bill went too far and would not protect disclosure on private individuals and corporations.

District Judge Terri Harder has barred the release of records identifying almost 1,000 people buried in the Hastings Regional Center cemetery from 1909 to 1959. The Adams County Historical Society filed suit last summer asking for the names to be made available to the public.

Harder's ruling upholds the center's policy that all documents, including the burial records, are labeled "confidential information" and are closed to the public.

Reporters and other document requesters are used to being disrespected or even completely ignored when exercising their rights under state public records law. Law enforcement officials in particular often seem to be among the most likely to brush aside records requests and journalists can often feel powerless to stop them.

That no longer appears to be the case in Helena, Ark.

The Associated Press reports that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court after the state Court of Appeals decided on Wednesday to uphold a judge's Feb. 5 ruling requiring the city to release all remaining secret documents that were part of the mayor's case.

The Michigan Court of Appeals decided on Wednesday to uphold a judge's Feb. 5 ruling requiring the City of Detroit to release all remaining secret documents that were part of the Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick case.

Detroit citizens will now get to view more of the details of their mayor's recent affair and the secret settlement deal reached with two of his former bodyguards that gave the men $8.4 million of city funds to walk away and keep quiet about it.

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) filed a Freedom of Information Act request today in an attempt to make public the largest online library of U.S. Army manuals and publications – a Web site that was, until last week, open to anyone.

An Arizona judge ruled Monday that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has not complied with the state records law – the second time in a week Sheriff Joe Arpaio has lost a records battle with a newspaper.

Last night, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted 199-0 to pass an open records reform bill after making minor adjustments to the legislation. The vote came five days after GOP members raised concerns about protecting the privacy of individuals.

The open records bill seeks to amend the existing 51-year old “Right to Know” law. It will make all documents open and place the burden on the government to prove why documents should not be made public.

Last week, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 97-1 to pass a bill restricting public access to the names of concealed weapons permit holders and allowing circuit court clerks to use their own discretion when releasing the names of the permit holders.