When you mix private institutions and public funding, the question often arises: At what point does a private company become subject to public records law? We’ve asked this question before. Now we see another example playing out in Ohio. A construction company filed a...
Sometimes news organizations are digging for public records to aid in a larger exposé that can affect people’s lives in a very material way – like compensation for medical or repair expenses. In New Orleans, the news station Fox 8 has filed suit against the city...
Colleges and universities that receive public funds are subject to open records law. Are there any limits? At Oklahoma University, NonDoc Media and their editor-in-chief, Tres Savage, have been engaged in a struggle with OU’s petition for a protective order. The goal...
Does a public records suit always conform to a good guy vs. bad guy narrative? Is the requester always the hero, and the public entity is always the villain? Of course, it’s not that black and white. Public records laws were created to support government transparency...
There have been numerous cases lately regarding what records should be considered public versus private when public officials or funds are involved. Here's an interesting corner of that larger question: have you ever wondered if large private donations to public...
Are you allowed to read the private texts and emails of public officials? Absolutely, if they count as public records. With the advent of smartphones and laptops, personal devices have become entangled with official communications, and government devices have become...
Have you ever received heavily redacted records from a public agency? If something seems off about the redactions in a fulfilled request, don’t just sit on your hands. Sometimes, it is worth challenging them. In Monmouth County, NJ, a school district parent filed a...
How should you proceed if your city appears to be stonewalling public records requests? Is this a sign of corruption? Mismanagement? Overwhelmed public employees? Where public records accountability is concerned, there’s no single answer. For instance, in San Josè,...