Georgia attorney general doesn't prosecute sunshine law violations
Here's a great item from Johnny Edwards, Sunshine Chair in Georgia:
Next time you get nabbed for speeding, wouldn’t it be nice if, instead of paying a fine or going to court, a friendly prosecutor called you up, explained the speed limit laws to you, and asked you not to drive so fast in the future? After all, we’re only talking about a few hundred dollars in fines, right? It’s just a misdemeanor, right? Wishful thinking, perhaps, but that’s the exactly the way Georgia’s Attorney General handles public officials who violate the state’s sunshine laws.
Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker has not criminally prosecuted any open records or open meetings complaints since his office began mediating the cases in 1998, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. Some 142 open records complaints filed between 2005 and February 2007 were listed as resolved in some way or another, according to a log maintained by the state's attorneys. Of those complaints, more than 100 cases were resolved when attorneys explained the scope of the law to the complainant or the agency being asked to provide records. In many cases, the agency handed over the records after state attorneys got involved. But others were more complicated. An August 2006 case alleged that two cell phone towers were built in Forsyth County without being considered first by the local planning commission. The case was resolved when the state attorney encouraged the complainant "to get private counsel to enforce her rights," according to the log.
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