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April 2008 - Posts

Monday, April 28, 2008 2:35 PM

Cow secrecy legislation doesn't get out of the barn

Legislation in the proposed farm bill that would have made the location of cows secret in the United States appears to have stalled, according to word from Patrice McDermott from Openthegovernment.org. Her organization led an effort to oppose the legislation
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Thursday, April 24, 2008 10:38 PM

E-mail and text messages topical FOI issues

It seems like this is the year of e-mail and text messages in the FOI world, emphasized by the Detroit mayor affair. A First Amendment Center intern wrote a nice overview of the issue. Also, check out a great summary of other recent developments
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Monday, April 21, 2008 2:51 PM

South Carolina closes concealed weapons permit records

The governor of South Carolina signed into law a measure that makes concealed weapons permits secret (see story). About a half dozen state legislatures have considered similar secrecy laws this year, pushed by gun enthusiasts who say those records invade
posted by DavidCuillier | 2 Comments
Monday, April 21, 2008 12:23 AM

Tribal council stifles public testimony at meeting

Native American tribes are sovereign nations, and as such, come up with their own rules and laws on public meetings and open records, and one tribal council appeared reluctant to be forthcoming with information tribal members demanded to know. Members
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, April 18, 2008 10:55 AM

Maine passes state shield law

Maine lawmakers passed a shield law to make Maine the 35th state to protect journalists from revealing confidential sources unless disclosure is of public interest or crucial to a case. A lot of journalists worry about these shield laws - that
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, April 18, 2008 10:39 AM

Mississippi sheriff jails citizens secretly

Webster County (Miss.) Sheriff Phillip Smith has concealed the arrests and jailing of eight people, according to a story in The Webster Progress Times, claiming the secrecy is needed to protect an investigation. This is taking the "investigatory" exemption
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, April 18, 2008 12:15 AM

Health journalists oppose hospital confidentiality agreements

The Association of Health Care Journalists is urging reporters to not sign confidentiality agreements with hospitals, which prevent journalists from disclosing information without a hospital's permission. The agreements, which appear to be originally
posted by DavidCuillier | 4 Comments
Thursday, April 17, 2008 1:11 AM

Congressional legislation would require preservation of White House electronic records

A new bill (HR 5811) proposed by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and a few other House members, would require the White House to establish standard procedures for keeping electronic records and e-mail, following a long investigation into the current administration
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 11:27 PM

Clinton pledges transparency and openness

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, speaking at a luncheon with newspaper executives, pledged her support for the federal shield law and transparent government. John McCain and Barack Obama expressed their support on Monday. See summary
posted by DavidCuillier | 3 Comments
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 11:23 PM

News organizations sue over deletion of e-mails in North Carolina

Ten North Carolina media organizations are suing over the methodical deletion of government e-mails. See story.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 1:31 AM

Military releases AP photographer after more than two years of "detainment"

Finally, the U.S. military decided it will release Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein after detaining him in prison for more than two years with no trial on suspicion he had links to insurgents. The government determined that the photographer
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 1:19 AM

Study finds more newsrooms getting subpoenas for more reasons

A study by a law visiting fellow at the University of Arizona found that more journalists are getting subpoenas for more reasons. In the survey by RonNell Andersen Jones, 761 respondents (38 percent of those who got the questionnaire) said they
posted by DavidCuillier | 2 Comments
Monday, April 14, 2008 3:13 PM

Missouri to charge $28 million for driver's database

On May 1 the Missouri Department of Revenue will start charging journalists and others $7 per driving record, or $28 million for the whole database, claiming a need to recover the costs of producing the records just as other states do, according to an
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Friday, April 11, 2008 11:50 AM

Study: Two-thirds health reporters say FOIA delays have killed stories

FOIA delays can be harmful to story health, according to a survey of reporters who cover health care. Graduate students at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism surveyed 169 members of the Association of Health Care Journalists to find
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:33 PM

D.C. reporter fights 10 months to get jail suicide records; exposes problems

Brendan Smith fought for 10 months to get records regarding suicides in the Washington, D.C., jails, and when he finally got them he found widespread problems. His story is published in the Washington (DC) City Paper. What was interesting was once he
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 12:21 PM

Illinois high school athletic association sees the light - photos OK at sporting events

The Illinois High School Association dropped its silly policy preventing newspapers from taking photos at high school sporting events. The Illinois Press Association sued the high school group over the issue and had been working toward legislation allowing
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 08, 2008 7:00 PM

Albany, N.Y., attorney tries to keep city policy on police chases secret

A city attorney in Albany, N.Y., says the city's police policy on how to handle high-speed chases should be secret because if it were public criminals would read it and be able to improve their get-away techniques. Yeah, that's what criminals are going
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Sunday, April 06, 2008 10:23 PM

When police pull the "investigatory" exemption, check into it further and tell the public!

This is something that happens all too often: Groton Town, Conn., experiences a police bust of a big party involving at least 20 teenagers, following a terrible drunken-driving accident a year ago that led to the death of a teenager. Citizens and
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Saturday, April 05, 2008 10:53 AM

Political pressure results in blockage in database keyword searches for "abortion"

Here's an example of how the government is able to inhibit the flow of information by tying federal funding to political agendas: Pressure federally funded database repositories to block specific keyword searches, such as the word "abortion."
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, April 04, 2008 12:57 PM

DOJ launches Web site to oppose the shield law

The U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up its PR campaign to fight the shield law by posting online "letters, testimony, public statements and views from officials thorughout the government expressing their concerns," continuing to repeat the administration's
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Thursday, April 03, 2008 11:15 AM

Georgia legislation would restrict release of court evidence displaying child porn

The George Senate voted Wednesday to prohibit the release of child porn used as courtroom evidence. The legislation was proposed after a prosecutor released copies of a videotape showing a suspect engaging in sex acts with two underage girls. The legislation
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 03, 2008 10:04 AM

Utah ruling makes public alleged misconduct by government officials

The Utah State Supreme Court ruled Friday that records detailing alleged sexual harassment by a deputy county clerk should be open to the public. The case will set precedent in Utah affirming that alleged misconduct by public officials should be public,
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 02, 2008 4:34 PM

Tennessee open government legislation advances

More FOI-friendly legislation continues to advance, including in Tennessee. A Senate committee approved legislation that would require government agencies to respond to a public records request within five business days. The legislation also would create
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 02, 2008 4:28 PM

Mississippi makes police criminal incident reports public

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law bills that make criminal incident reports public. That's great news, although it's puzzling that they weren't public before the new law. We need to continue to ensure that criminal reports are public so people
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments