Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
From Sunshine Review
| State sunshine |
|---|
| State laws How to ask for records Transparency headlines Statutory changes Notable FOIA requests |
| State sunshine lawsuits |
| State court cases E-mail access Private agency, public dollars |
| The WikiFOIA portal |
Contents |
2008
- Charleston Gazette v. Charleston, a case that will be heard by the West Virginia Supreme Court. The case is about whether the city must turn over certain police records to the newspaper.
- Mail Tribune v. Michael Winters. An Oregon ruling from April 2008 concerning concealed carry weapons.
- Lautenschlager v. Gunderson. Dismissing appeal of a lower court ruling that said that legislators can share drafts of legislation with lobbyists (in this case, the National Rifle Association), without also having to share those drafts with the public.
2007
- Zellner v. Cedarburg School District. In this 2007 case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed an Ozaukee County trial court order to release a CD of images that a newspaper requested after a Wisconsin high school teacher was fired for viewing the images on his school computer.[2]
2006
- COMPS v. Town of Islip, 2006.
2005
- Vourvoulias v. Movassaghi, a state appellate court ruling that the Louisiana Public Records Act only applies to those who individually submit a request for records.
- Hempel v. City of Baraboo. This decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld a lower court order denying a records request made by Hal Hempel, a police officer of the Baraboo police department. Hempel sought records of an internal investigation conducted about allegations against him to the effect that he had harrassed female officers in the department. The police department believed that providing Hempel with the documents would have a chilling impact on its ability to investigate internal matters. One issue in the case was Hempel's motivation for seeking the documents. In his briefs, he stated that his actual motivation for seeking the documents was irrelevant. The state Supreme Court disagreed, saying, "In fact, requesters under the Open Records Law need not identify themselves, or state a purpose for their request. Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(i). When performing a balancing test, however, a records custodian almost inevitably must evaluate context to some degree."
2003
- Wick v. Montrose County Board of County Commissioners. In this Colorado case, a judge determined that a county manager's private diary was not a public record.[3]
- Fuller v. City of Homer. In this decision of the Alaskan Supreme Court, the court said that the the City of Homer was wrong to claim that it could withhold access to staff documents under the "deliberative processes privilege".[4]
2001
- Bester v. Louisiana Supreme Court Commission on Bar Admissions. The Louisiana Supreme Court declares in this decision that the Louisiana Public Records Act cannot be made to apply to matters within the province of the Louisiana judiciary, because of the doctrine of separation of powers.
1999
1995
1994
1993
1990
1989
1987
1986
1985
1982
- City of Kenai v. Kenai Peninsula Newspapers. A decision of the Alaskan Supreme Court[5]
1974
- Denver Publishing v. Dreyfus, a Colorado case.
Other
References
- ↑ WIREData v. Sussex
- ↑ Newspaper Association of America, "May 2007 — Wisconsin Supreme Court Orders Release, Under State's Open Records Law, of Images on Teacher's School Computer", May 1, 2007
- ↑ Open Government Guide, "What records are and are not subject to the act?"
- ↑ Text of Fuller v. Homer
- ↑ Text of Fuller v. Homer

