FOI FYI

Rhode Island attorney general sues city for records law violations

2008-07-18T05:53:00Z

I love Rhode Island. How many other states provide the attorney general the power to sue agencies that violate the open records law on behalf of citizens? That should be the standard in every state. According to a story in the The Providence Journal, the AG sued the city of Cranston for failing to respond to a public records request by a disc jockey. The disc jockey is running for city council and requested records regarding long-distance phone calls to identify potential wasteful spending. The city took three months to respond to the request instead of the required 10 days, stating that it couldn't comply with the law because of "limited resources." The lawsuit is the fourth time the AG has sued government agencies for failing to follow the state's open government laws.

Michigan Supreme Court rulings damage transparency

2008-07-17T16:01:00Z

Two state Supreme Court rulings in Michigan on Wednesday hurt access to police records and information about public employees (see story). In one case, the court determined that exempt personal information now includes home addresses and telephone numbers of public employees. The court feared that the information could aid marketers and disgruntled ex-employees and ex-spouses in finding people, as if they can't already find that information easily through other means.

In the other case, Michigan State University's campus paper, The State News, submitted a request for a police incident report about an assault in a dorm room. The request was denied because of privacy grounds and because it was still under investigation. Later the paper got the information from elsewhere. The court ruled that a determination for whether a record is public or not needs to be made based on the status of the situation at the time. Therefore, what this ruling means to journalists is if there is a major incident and reporters request police reports and are denied because it is "still under investigation," then they should submit a new public records request every hour (as the investigation continues and eventually gets resolved), and ultimately one of the requests will be granted as conditions change. This is an example of how access laws (and government officials' manipulation of them to stall or prevent access) can actually get in the way of common sense, creating more barriers for citizens and journalists.

Essay winner: Presidential candidates should disclose health records

2008-07-16T17:18:00Z

This month's Sunshine Week Citizen Journalism Award went to a United Kingdom resident who says the public is entitled to see U.S. presidential candidates' health records to know for sure that they are getting a president who will last the term. Dorothy Skinner points out that the British people were angered when Queen Victoria retreated from her public duties because of depression for more than 10 years. Spot on, Dorothy!

The topic of the next month's contest is: "Does government have a role in overseeing the release of results from federally funded science, or does the public have the right to view such information unfiltered?" Anyone can enter, including professional journalists. Check it out.

FOI issues highlighted at the 2008 SPJ Convention & National Journalism Conference

2008-07-11T18:52:00Z

Hear from FOI experts on a variety of topics, including new FOI amendments, courtroom education, getting the facts you need from politicians and much more at the 2008 SPJ Conference & National Journalism Convention, Sept. 4-7 in Atlanta, Ga. Listed below is a mere sampling of the development sessions designed to fit your needs!

FOI Warriors: Learn All About the New FOI Amendments

Description: Experts on the amendments Congress recently passed to the Freedom of Information Act will tell you all about the drama leading up to the new law, what the new law says, and what it means for journalists engaged in using FOIA. Learn which provisions are likely to end up in litigation, as well as which parts of the law will help journalists get better and quicker access to federal government information.

Speakers: Daniel J. Metcalfe, executive director, Collaboration on Government Secrecy; Lucy Dalglish, executive director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press; Laurie Babinski, associate, Baker Hostetler

Hi, I'll Be Suing You Today

Description: If you libel or slander someone on a major story, L. Lin Wood could be the man who'll sue you. Once called “the lawyer for the damned,” he has represented Richard Jewell, the family of JonBenet Ramsey, Gary Condit, and Beth Holloway (mother of Natalee). In 2007, he signed on to represent Howard K. Stern, executor of Anna Nicole Smith's estate. He'll discuss defamation concerns and what NOT to do during a “media frenzy.”

Speakers: L. Lin Wood, partner, Powell Goldstein LLP

Pursuing the Lead: A Study of Persistence and Payoff on the Bigger Story

Description: An interest in looking into an area of state government and education not routinely covered leads to tips and evidence of broader corruption in Alabama's two-year colleges. This is a case study of how larger, more significant news stories can be found in an area previously considered not interesting enough to have a beat reporter devoted to it. There are investigative stories on all beats and subjects, and ways to get to them when others don't want you to have the information. Getting around the obstacles, why it's important to stick with it and a reminder why every government institution that receives taxpayer money needs a watchdog, will be discussed.

Speaker: Brett Blackledge, reporter, Associated Press and former general assignment and special projects reporter, Birmingham (Ala.) News, 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism

Exposing Bad Politicians through Public Records

Description: This session will outline useful public documents and online sources for exposing bad politicians and corrupt candidates. Learn how to use document cross-checking techniques to spot conflicts of interest, shady votes, business dealings and illegal spending practices.

The Real World of Campaigns: Making Politics Matter

Description: Beyond the stories about who’s ahead in the polls, the latest political gaffe and the newest campaign strategy are the stories that go to the heart of politics: the stories that connect politics to governing. To cast an informed vote, citizens need to understand what the winning candidate will do about the economy, schools, health care, crime, suburban sprawl, tax rates environmental protections and, in the case of federal offices, war and peace — all the issues that affect our daily lives. If reporters are going to connect a politician’s campaign promises to the real world, they must take a difficult first step, a step that defies our instincts and our training: Take the candidates seriously. That means reporters have to make themselves familiar with the issues and figure out how to get factual information accurately and quickly. We’ll provide strategies and techniques to do just that, along with tricks, short cuts and specific sources of information.

Speaker: Jon Margolis, former chief political reporter, Chicago Tribune; Deborah Gump, director of print/online, Committee of Concerned Journalists

Courts and Trial Coverage

Description: Journalists often find themselves having to be an "instant expert" on trial and courtroom coverage due to a major crime or incident in their area. Whether you are an experienced journalist or a reporter who does not cover the courts beat regularly, this session is designed to help you navigate your way through the legal system. The presenter, Jeff Stein, is a lawyer and journalist who has taught mass media law for nearly 20 years and is the author of a guide for journalists on covering law and courts.

Speakers: Jeff Stein, R.J. McElroy chair & executive-in-residence in Communication Arts, Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa

Dealing with Pesky Sources

Description: Developing them maintaining them, schmoozing, them, getting them to talk - over and over and over again. Mark Felt is not the only person who wants to meet you in a garage. Dave Garlock will tell you how he got a PR source to deliver secret documents to him in a Brooklyn diner at 5 a.m. This will be a hands-on "working source" seminar and the words Internet, Web or CAR will not be brought up!

Speaker: Dave Garlock, senior lecturer, University of Texas

For a full list of programs offered at this year’s Convention & National Journalism Conference, visit http://www.spj.org/c-programs.asp.

Wacky agency of the month: Cameras in court would show our inept magistrates

2008-07-11T05:02:00Z

This story out of Arizona regarding cameras in courtrooms will make you shutter - with laughter. A court rule is being considered by the state Supreme Court to require judges to outline their arguments for prohibiting cameras in the courtroom. Currently, judges can bar cameras for any reason and not justify their decision. Most folks are in favor of the proposed rule change, including judicial leaders in the Phoenix area. But the presiding judges from Greenlee and Mohave counties issued written comments opposing the rule change for the dumbest reason I think I've ever seen put in writing: Cameras shouldn't be allowed in courtrooms because "(s)ome of our non-lawyer JPs and Magistrates may not truly reflect the highest levels of professionalism or knowledge, which would reflect poorly upon the judiciary as a whole."

In other words, we have bozo yahoos overseeing justice in our counties and if cameras were in the courtroom the public might actually see that. And then they might think we are bozo yahoos. And I guess they would be thinking correctly, and might actually demand professional and knowledgeable magistrates. Case closed!

Newspaper nails story about excessive data copy fees

2008-07-11T03:52:00Z

Officials in Horry County, S.C., want to charge a newspaper $284 for data that probably shouldn't cost more than $25, if anything. The county wants to charge $130 in programming fees and then 10 cents per record for 1,541 records. That's outrageous.

It's not uncommon for agencies to charge high fees for records, particularly data, but what is neat about this situation is how the newspaper wrote about the issue. In a story Thursday in The Horry Independent, the reporters did the following things, which I bet will pry the records loose for a reasonable copy cost:

1. They asked other agencies what they would charge for copying the data, finding that most agencies would charge no more than $25 or $30 (for a few hours of programming time). This use of peer pressure makes the county look abnormal and deviant.

2. They are asking for a database that has a strong public interest (trying to get speeding ticket data to identify speed traps that readers have complained about). The public will support access to records that contain information of use to them.

3. They quoted access experts in the state, pointing out how the county is not following the law. Even better would be getting a government attorney, such as the attorney general, to comment.

4. They teamed up with a sister paper (Carolina Forest Chronicle) to request records and write about the county's lack of responsiveness to this request and others. Now more citizens know about the overcharging.

5. They point out how the law allows the county to waive the fees if the records are for a public purpose, and then quoted the county officials' lame rationale for denying the waiver.

Ultimately, all of this reporting provides a solid story that shows how the county is breaking the law and unjustly denying important information for the public. Citizens will talk. They'll write letters to the editor and call the county. The officials, if they are smart, will yield, follow the law, and do what's right.

House passes bill to require White House to keep e-mails

2008-07-10T04:15:00Z

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Electronic Message Preservation Act (H.R. 5811) Wednesday by a vote of 286 to 137, scoring a victory for openness in federal agency e-mails. In particular, the bill would preserve White House e-mails and require systems to collect and maintain e-mails in federal agencies. This legislation will help historians and journalists better understand what is happening and why (with the usual exemptions still applying to keep secret information that would harm national security, privacy, etc.).

FOI Tip: Request training/travel records and then verify through e-mails

2008-07-10T03:51:00Z

Judge Kelly A. MacEachern of Orange County, Calif., probably thought nobody would notice that she was paid to attend a weeklong class in San Diego but actually attended only part of it and instead spent time at Sea World, the San Diego Zoo and kayaking, according to a disciplinary report issued last month by the California Commission on Judicial Performance. But somebody did notice, and she got caught. The commission based its findings on e-mail records they were able to review that pieced together the series of events. MacEachern, a former county prosecutor, also was found to have lied under oath when questioned about the fibs, and she was removed from the bench (see summary at the Corruption Chronicles blog).

FOI Tip: Request all the travel vouchers and conference records kept by your local government agency (city, courts, school district, etc.), then verify whether the officials actually went, looking at the agency-issued credit card records for the same dates, e-mails regarding those people around the travel dates, and the program details of the training or conference. If a judge could have the gall to lie about such a petty little thing, imagine what other folks might be doing. All at taxpayer expense.

Harnessing cyber records: House to consider bill preserving White House e-mails

2008-07-08T15:57:00Z

The U.S. House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on H.R. 5811 (Electronic Communications Preservation Act), which would require the U.S. Archivist to establish standards for the capture, management and preservation of White House e-mails, and to issue regulations requiring federal agencies to preserve e-mails in electronic form. This is great legislation, and SPJ decided today to join with OpenTheGovernment.org and other organizations to submit a letter of support for the bill today.

Probably-not-so-coincidentally, today the GAO issued a report revealing that federal agencies (Departments of Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Trade Commission) are not complying with current requirements to preserve e-mail records. For a summary and link to the GAO report, see this Web site by U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

Incidentally, if you want to chime in with your thoughts to the powers at be on this, feel free to call or e-mail the big cheese who supports transparency, Waxman, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (contact info at: http://www.henrywaxman.house.gov/contact.htm). Or better yet, contact your representative (go to this House Web site and put in your zip code to find your representative's Web site and contact info). All too often, agencies use e-mail and easily deleted electronic records to hide important information that would help the public. Help stop delete-key secrecy!

DOJ keeps secret a list of 10,815 people who bought bogus degrees from diploma mill

2008-07-07T21:28:00Z

The Department of Justice is keeping secret a list of 10,815 people who bought fake degrees from a Spokane, Wash., diploma mill to get promotions and enhanced retirements, including people from countries that harbor terrorists. Court hearings showed that at least one of the purchasers worked in the White House and dozens others were Department of Defense employees, according to a story by the Spokesman-Review. The diploma mill was shut down and its owner and seven others were sent to prison for selling bogus degrees and fake diplomas to real universities. Thirty-two of the buyers were from "terrorist nation states," including Iran and Syria.

The Department of Justice and Office of Personnel Management have refused to provide the list to the public, despite admitting that having underprepared cheaters in health care, engineering and other professions "puts the public at risk." The reason they won't tell people who has false credentials? Agency "policy." I guess that confirms the Justice Department operates under a policy of secrecy, even when it hurts the public and defies all logic.

Find out if diploma mills are being investigated in your area and request the list of cheaters. If enough journalists go after that information (great stories and a public service!), maybe the government will see the light.

The late Jesse Helms fought for FOI

2008-07-07T19:01:00Z

An insightful blog item posted by Steven Aftergood on his "Secrecy News" blog points out that Sen. Jesse Helms, who died July 4, was an outspoken critic of government secrecy. That might surprise some people who assume FOI is a "liberal" issue, but the arch-conservative Helms got torqued at excessive secrecy in government, particularly in the executive branch. One quote of his: "This government is shot through with willy-nilly applications of secrecy." (1995 meeting of the Moynihan Commission).

Some politicians SAY they support transparency (e.g., "When information which properly belongs to the public is systematically withheld by those in power, the people soon become ignorant of their own affairs, distrustful of those who manage them, and -- eventually -- incapable of determining their own destinies," said by Richard Nixon in 1972), but others like Helms actually fought for legislation to promote access. It goes to show that people who paint access as a media issue, or liberal issue, are missing the boat. It's about holding government accountable. Read more quotes and links to Helms' work with pro-access legislation at Aftergood's blog.

Access to records and meetings looking better in New York

2008-07-07T18:50:00Z

A half-dozen positive legislative bills await the governor's signature in New York, continuing an awesome year of increased openness around the country (see story in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle). Some of the new provisions, provided Gov. David Paterson signs them, would:

Require government agencies to make records that will be discussed in public meetings available to the public at least 72 hours before the meeting.
Provide lawyer's fees for someone who sues for an Open Meetings Law violation and wins.
Enable more access to online government records.
Require agencies to keep up-to-date online lists of the records they keep.
Allow the requester to get a record in electronic format (e.g., database) as long as they pay for the copying (including hourly salary of employee to do the copying).

Great stuff! The tide has turned and now proactive legislation is shoring up weaknesses in public record and public meeting laws around the country. Identify the weaknesses in your state laws and get them fixed, little by little, year by year.

White House fights to keep global warming document hidden

2008-07-04T19:09:00Z

According to Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, the White House has quietly been fighting to suppress a report finished in December by the Environmental Protection Agency that could become the foundation for tighter regulations of greenhouse gas emissions, such as increasing vehicle fuel economy. The report apparently outlines how policy changes for vehicles, planes, trains, power stations and refineries could reduce gas emissions, saving society more than $2 trillion. What is astonishing, according to a New York Times story, is that the White House refused to even open the e-mail containing the document from the EPA, thinking that by ignoring the report and leaving it in cyber-limbo, then it must not exist or need to be acknowledged. Journalists should seek out all reports produced by agencies, even the ones that are suppressed because the findings don't support the politicians' goals.

Happy 42nd birthday, FOIA! (or is it happy? CJOG report glum)

2008-07-03T17:18:00Z

On the eve of the 42nd anniversary of the federal Freedom of Information Act, signed into law July 4, 1966, the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government released its annual report on FOIA performance, titled "An Opportunity Lost." According to the report, federal agencies have made little progress in responding to FOIA requests, despite a two-year-old presidential order to improve. The report contradicts a glowing evaluation by the Justice Department last month claiming "remarkable improvements." The DOJ report was based on progress agencies made based on their own established goals. The CJOG report is based on comparing actual performance to previous years and reporting requirements mandated by Congress. Among some of the findings, agencies cut FOIA personnel, about half the requests were not responded to within the 20-day deadline, and the percent of requesters getting what they asked for fell to 60 percent, a record low.

Alas, FOIA. There was so much hope and promise when you were young. But now, in this mid-life crisis, it's time for real improvements - stiff penalties for noncompliance, a functioning ombudsman office, and increased commitment and funding from leaders. Let's hope your birthday next year is more jovial!

Police incident reports now must be made available in Mississippi

2008-07-03T04:31:00Z

Police in Mississippi now must provide basic incident reports daily, including the offense, suspects and where and when a crime took place. According to news reports, compliance was been mixed Tuesday when the new law went into effect.

Twenty years ago it was routine for police to provide incident reports every morning for reporters and others to look through. Gradually that information has been taken away nationwide. Now it takes laws to bring back that basic access. If your state doesn't require basic incident reports to be made public, then follow Mississippi and get your law changed.