Governments Now Suing Those Who Request Public Records

Wiki


People who make Freedom of Information Act requests to school districts, municipalities, and state agencies now are being sued by those agencies for making requests in cases where the information could embarrass the agency or if it is claimed to be legally sensitive. The lawsuits generally ask judges to rule that the records being sought do not have to be divulged. They name the requesters as defendants but do not seek damage awards. However, requesters then must pursue the issue in court, at their own expense, which can be considerable. -GEG

An Oregon parent wanted details about school employees getting paid to stay home. A retired educator sought data about student performance in Louisiana. And college journalists in Kentucky requested documents about the investigations of employees accused of sexual misconduct.

Instead, they got something else: sued by the agencies they had asked for public records.

Government bodies are increasingly turning the tables on citizens who seek public records that might be embarrassing or legally sensitive. Instead of granting or denying their requests, a growing number of school districts, municipalities and state agencies have filed lawsuits against people making the requests – taxpayers, government watchdogs and journalists who must then pursue the records in court at their own expense.

The lawsuits generally ask judges to rule that the records being sought do not have to be divulged. They name the requesters as defendants but do not seek damage awards. Still, the recent trend has alarmed freedom-of-information advocates, who say it’s becoming a new way for governments to hide information, delay disclosure and intimidate critics.

“This practice essentially says to a records requester, ‘File a request at your peril,’ ” said University of Kansas journalism professor Jonathan Peters, who wrote about the issue for the Columbia Journalism Review in 2015, before several more cases were filed. “These lawsuits are an absurd practice and noxious to open government.”

Government officials who have employed the tactic insist they are acting in good faith. They say it’s best to have courts determine whether records should be released when legal obligations are unclear – for instance, when the documents may be shielded by an exemption or privacy laws.

At least two recent cases have succeeded in blocking information while many others have only delayed the release.

State freedom-of-information laws generally allow requesters who believe they are wrongly denied records to file lawsuits seeking to force their release. If they succeed, government agencies can be ordered to pay their legal fees and court costs.

Suing the requesters flips the script: Even if agencies are ultimately required to make the records public, they typically will not have to pay the other side’s legal bills.

“You can lose even when you win,” said Mike Deshotels, an education watchdog who was sued by the Louisiana Department of Education after filing requests for school district enrollment data last year. “I’m stuck with my legal fees just for defending my right to try to get these records.”

The lawsuit argued that the data could not be released under state and federal privacy laws and initially asked the court to order Deshotels and another citizen requester to pay the department’s legal fees and court costs. The department released the data months later after a judge ruled it should be made public.

Deshotels, a 72-year-old retired teachers union official who authors the Louisiana Educator blog, had spent $3,000 fighting the lawsuit by then. He said the data ultimately helped show a widening achievement gap among the state’s poorest students, undercutting claims of progress by education reformers.

The lawsuits have been denounced by some courts and policymakers. A New Jersey judge in 2015 said they were the “antithesis” of open-records policies and dismissed a case filed by a township against a person who requested police department surveillance video footage.

In Michigan, the state House voted 108-0 earlier this year in favor of a bill that would make it illegal for agencies to sue public records requesters. The proposal came in response to a county’s lawsuit against a local newspaper that had sought the personnel files of two employees running for sheriff. A judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying the county had to approve or deny the request.

The documents, ultimately released days before the election, showed that one of the candidates had been disciplined for carrying on an affair while on-duty in 2011. That candidate lost.

The Michigan bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Klint Kesto, called the tactic “a backdoor channel to delay and put pressure on the requester” that circumvents the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

“Government shouldn’t file a lawsuit and go on offense. Either approve the request or deny it,” he said. “This shouldn’t be happening anywhere in the country.”

As his bill remains pending in a state Senate committee, Michigan State University filed a lawsuit May 1 against ESPN after the network requested police reports related to a sexual assault investigation involving football players. That and a number of other cases are currently unfolding.

In April, the Portland, Oregon, school district filed a lawsuit against parent Kim Sordyl, who is seeking records about employees on leave for alleged misconduct after the disclosure that one psychologist had been off for three years. Sordyl said she believes the information will expose costly missteps by district human resources officials and lawyers, and the district attorney has already ordered the records to be released.

“They are going to great lengths to protect themselves and their own mismanagement. This is retaliation,” said Sordyl, who has hired an attorney. “Most people would give up.”

Read full article here…

Visit our Classified ads.

Check out our Classified ads at the bottom of this page.

Recent stories & commentary

Classified Ads

The appearance of ads on this site does not signify endorsement by the publisher. We cannot vouch for accuracy of statements or integrity of advertisers. We will investigate complaints, however, and remove any message we find to be misleading or that promotes anything fraudulent or unethical.
For ad rates, click here.

Health


Health with space-age technology and Quantum physics. For people and all animals. No medication! Available world wide! Contact us at [email protected]. For principals and testimonials please visit our website. www.Healthytherapy.com



Learn Natural Medicine practice at home! There is NO Freedom without Health Freedom. There is NO Health Freedom without Informed, Voluntary Consent. There is no informed consent without education and understanding. American College of Natural Medicine, Thai Yoga Center provides you and your family with spiritually based natural health education. ThaiYogaCenter.Com or https://naic-edu.org

The Heavenly Handbook of Health. “WOW! U want FeedBack? So far I am floored. If I’ve learned anything about you since we met; this book has the potential to be a blockbuster.” Read 18pg Teaser @ HeavenlyHandbookofHealth.com Simple, incredible, affordable health – any age!



JWLABS – Building fine Rife frequency instruments in the USA since 1987.
We offer customer support and an exceptional warranty. Learn why all households and clinics should employ this device. Call us at 888-891-1122 to discuss the many benefits.   www.rifemachine.com



G. Edward Griffin’s blood pressure dropped to healthy levels and stayed there after using Cardio Miracle, a nitric-oxide booster containing a blend of ingredients that supports the body’s natural defense against heart disease, atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers, and more. If you are over 40, you really should check this out.


Income


Are you ready for financial freedom?
Visit:  www.MoneyThatsReal.com


Make money on money you are already spending. Join the world’s largest shopping network. Eleven-year-old company in 46 countries. Info and free membership. www.freedombuildersinternational.com



Ultimate Wealth Building Guide reveals 5 steps to create your own banking system to achieve lifetime financial security, certainty, and peace of mind in 60 days. Discover how to build and grow lasting wealth safely and predictably, regardless of market and economic cycles. www.mywealthwarehouse.com



Free Report: Three Major Shifts That Signal Risks to Your Investments Are Headed Higher. Including the one action every investor should take right now to protect their portfolio against significantly rising risks. http://BuyAndStoreGold.com/pl-geg/


Money & Banking


Lawful 100% income tax avoidance: a right recognized by IRS and Supreme Court. Request free report: [email protected] or find NoThanksIRS on FB/Twitter.


Need to Know


Being informed is not enough. Knowledge, by itself, is not power, but it holds the potential for power if used as a guide for action. Truth can be overpowered by tyranny only if we fail to enter the battle. The future belongs, not to ideas, but to people who act on those ideas. If you truly want to make a difference in the world, Freedom Force International awaits you.



Anxiety Publishing – providing more satisfying novels to the conscious community, stories based in a real world, not the illusion of the establishment. Promote your precious novel with your fellow authors and help build a collection of future classics. anxietypub.com


For Sale


Offline is a documentary on the inevitability of the Earth being slammed by a mega solar flare – not the common type that interrupts communications and creates a light show in the Northern skies – but the big brothers thousands of times more powerful. These monsters deliver enough energy to blow apart the master transformers that supply the planet’s energy grids. When that happens, the lights go out for longer than anyone wants to think about. These X-Class solar storms hit the Earth every 150 years, on average. The last one arrived 156 years ago. We are overdue (More)

 


Subscribe
Notify of
guest
2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Ed LaPinskas
Ed LaPinskas
6 years ago

And President Trump needs to have this trickery stopped.

trackback
Fire Storm California – Geoterrorism – No Justice … JUSTUS!!! | OUR GREATER DESTINY
6 years ago

[…] Controllers suppress the truth with censorship, unjustified strikes against truth speakers on YouTube, restricted search engine capability, and now https://needtoknow.news/2017/10/governments-now-suing-request-public-records/ […]