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March 2008 - Posts

Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:34 PM

Carolyn Carlson urges Region 3 SPJ conference attendees to keep pushing for records

SPJ FOI Committee member Carolyn Carlson spoke at the SPJ Region 3 spring conference, urging members to never take "no" for an answer when requesting campus crime information. Carlson chairs the FOI Committee's subcommittee on access to campus crime
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:26 PM

AP to sue West Virginia Supreme Court over chief justice's documents

The Associated Press gave notice that it will sue the West Virgina Supreme Court for failing to follow the state public records law. Journalists requested work e-mail and other records regarding the chief justice in their investigation of a potential
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:16 PM

Illinois police decide to stop hiding juvenile cases after rash of attacks alarms public

This story illustrates exactly why police reports need to be public. Police in Peoria, Ill., had a longstanding policy of hiding any crime reports involving juveniles, only providing them if someone knew about it already and asked for it
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:01 PM

City councilman proposes city FOI law to duplicate state law, give perks to journalists

A city council member in New Britain, Conn., is proposing a city law that would duplicate the state public records law and give reporters free photocopying of records up to $200. I hate to say it, but this is a bad idea. First, there's no need to duplicate
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 27, 2008 11:11 PM

Tennessee bill would jail journalists for publishing info about someone's gun permit

A startling bill approved by a Senate committee in Tennessee would not only make concealed-weapons permits secret (as in many other states), but would make it a felony to publish any information about someone who has a gun permit or is even applying for
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 27, 2008 11:04 PM

Scientists group forces Marines, Army to put public records back online

The Federation of American Scientists forced through a Freedom of Information Act request the U.S. Marine Corps to restore public access to unclassified documents on its Web site (see FAS info). Similar pressure by FAS pressured the Army to restore
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 27, 2008 10:55 PM

Illinois county scrutinized for erasing meeting tape

A Vermilion County supervisor in Illinois is on the defensive for erasing tapes of public meetings. A lawsuit was filed against the county for allegedly violating the state freedom of information law by erasing audiotape of an annual assessors' meeting.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 11:29 PM

Oklahoma Supreme Court withdraws limitations to online court records

Kudos to the Oklahoma Supreme Court for withdrawing its restrictive rules limiting access to online court records. The rules, which were slated to go into effect June 10, prohibited some information online that was available in paper format. The court
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 9:57 PM

Utah SPJ presents Sunshine Awards

SALT LAKE CITY—The Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists hosted a public forum Wednesday night to recognize the achievements of individuals who have helped promote access to government. The event celebrated Sunshine Week,
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Monday, March 24, 2008 10:45 AM

S.C. bill advances on concealing concealed weapons permits

It looks likely that South Carolina will make concealed weapons permits secret, according to an article in The Charlotte Observer. A half dozen state legislatures have considered making these records secret, and already more than 25 states keep the information
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Thursday, March 20, 2008 11:49 AM

Flurry of FOI advances for Sunshine Week

Great stuff is going on around the country on the FOI front, thanks to Sunshine Week. Here is just a snippet of some of the awesome advances in making government more transparent and trustworthy: Events galore, including panels, seminars and public
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, March 20, 2008 11:45 AM

FEMA charges $200,000 for public records

FEMA is demanding The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La., shell out more than $200,000 for compiling and copying more than 2 million documents. After dragging its feet on the request, which was first submitted September 2006, the federal agency told the paper
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 1:37 AM

It's Sunshine Week: Let the rays shine in!

For Sunshine Week make sure to check out some great ideas for FOI projects, stories/editorials, quotable sources/studies, and classroom exercises. Share ideas with other journalists in your organization and state. You'll find lots of resources at National
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, March 14, 2008 12:53 PM

Texas sheriff says he'll jail reporters if they keep interfering in his business

Sheriff Santiago Barrera Jr. in Duval County, Texas, said he would jail reporters if they kept "interfering" in his business. Apparently the sheriff was angry that a journalist wrote about his son's arrest of public intoxication and resisting arrest.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, March 14, 2008 11:25 AM

Study: Some FOIA requests more than 15 years old

A study by The Hill shows that some FOIA requests have yet to be fulfilled more than 15 years after they were first submitted (see story). No surprises there. In the past some requests have been unfulfilled for more than 20 years. Fortunately, the median
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 5:15 PM

Leahy & Cornyn propose new legislation bolstering FOIA

Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, have introduced a bill that would require Congress to clearly state its intention to pass exemptions to FOIA so legislation making records secret can't slip through without notice as (b)(3) exemptions.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 6:09 PM

Court of Appeals grants stay in Locy contempt case

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., agreed to a stay on contempt charges against former USA Today reporter Toni Locy. Maybe the court listened to the 29 organizations, including SPJ, that said Locy shouldn't be fined $5,000 a day for
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 3:02 PM

N.M. attorney general proposes updating sunshine law

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King says he'll ask the Legislature next year to update the state public records law, including requiring agencies to accept requests via e-mail, adding criminal penalties for violations (misdemeanor and fine of up to
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Monday, March 10, 2008 10:41 PM

Reporter ordered to pay $5,000 a day (personally) until sources revealed

A judge is requiring former USA Today reporter Toni Locy to pay $5,000 a day - personally - until she gives up sources she can't remember. Today attorneys for the paper asked a federal appeals court for a stay. If it isn't successful, then after
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Monday, March 10, 2008 10:37 PM

Texas sheriff deletes requested e-mails, says backup tapes not public records

A sheriff in Texas deleted e-mails after a television station requested to see them, then claims that backup tapes that still contain the e-mails aren't public records. Hmm. What does this sheriff have to hide? A judge will settle the matter. See story
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Saturday, March 08, 2008 11:08 PM

Identity theft victim speaks out: Closing records won't protect us from thieves

Here are some great thoughts before Sunshine Week from Donald Meyers, a FOI Committee member, who was a victim of identity theft: There's a new bogeyman out there working for those who want to close off public records: The identity thief. He joins the
posted by DavidCuillier | 4 Comments
Friday, March 07, 2008 3:07 PM

Florida journalism students learn from watching state supreme court in action

Here's an account provided this week by a University of Florida doctoral student that shows the value of watching media law as it unfolds in person: Media Law Panelists Shine a Spotlight on False Light in Florida By Kearston Wesner, J.D.,  University
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Wednesday, March 05, 2008 7:41 PM

University donor information to be secret in Virginia

Public universities in Virginia will be able to hide the names of donors if the governor signs this donor-secrecy bill. This is bad stuff. It opens the door for people to influence policy and admissions through secret bribes. That's what a student journalist
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, March 05, 2008 7:36 PM

Maryland bill would require court orders to open records regarding pending lawsuits

A Maryland legislative bill would require anone seeking public records regarding pending litigation to obtain a court order. Egads! We've seen officials use the "pending litigation" excuse to go into secret meetings, sometimes calling anything that could
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, March 05, 2008 7:11 PM

Utah bill would conceal names of animal researchers

A bill passed by the Utah House of Representatives and now headed to the governor to sign would make secret private information about animal researchers at state universities. The backers say it's needed to protect the safety of researchers. However,
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments