Arizona

September 30, 2008: A recent court ruling against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio underlines the major shortcomings of Arizona's public records law.

This law is intended to ensure that the public will have access to records at public agencies, but the reality is that agencies can still find ways to make it difficult to get the information. Read the full column here.

Court: Arpaio didn't provide records 'promptly'
September 23, 2008: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio doesn't get to decide how quickly the law requires him to respond to public records requests, the Arizona Supreme Court concluded Tuesday.

The justices, without comment, rejected requests by Arpaio to overturn an appellate court ruling that said he had not complied with the requirements of state law to provide records "promptly." That decision concluded that delays that sometimes extended beyond 100 days cannot be considered reasonable. Read the full article here.

Tucson Mayor sued after failing to produce public records

July 29, 2008 Earlier this year the Goldwater Institute requested public records from 29 officials from around Arizona. The only official not to comply with the request was Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup. After numerous phone calls and emails failed to produce the records, the Institute sued the Mayor for failure to comply with the Arizona Public Records Law.

 » Full story

MCSO stymies requests for information — even from regulators
July 15, 2008: The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office tries to stifle almost anyone checking on its operations.

It keeps secret the most basic data about its police work that other departments publish every year. It refuses to release public records - or tries to remove information from those records - without any legal right to do so.

And even agencies that oversee Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office cannot pry free documents that MCSO wants to keep from the public. Read the full article here.

Transparency & Government

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• Government corruption
• Arizona Transparency Legislation

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FOIA Laws

• Arizona Public Records Law
• FOIA procedures
• Notable FOIA requests in Arizona

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