Chestnut Hill resident Terry Mutchler, an AP award-winning journalist and the founding executive director of Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records, is being inducted into the Open Government Hall of Fame, which recognizes long-term contributions of individuals to open government in their respective states. Mutchler is an experienced trial attorney who was appointed by former Pennsylvania […]
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Judge’s ruling keeps Texas open meetings lawsuit alive
Judge Bobby Bell denied on Wednesday the Calhoun Port Authority’s latest motion to dismiss a Texas Open Meetings Act case filed by the Victoria Advocate. The newspaper claims the port should have written on the agenda for its May 9 meeting that it was going into closed session to discuss hiring former U.S. Congressman Blake […]
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Newly Formed Partnership Will Better Train Cities to Use Data, Evidence
One of the largest advocacy groups for municipal governments in the nation has committed to helping its members enhance their use of data and evidence to solve local problems. The National League of Cities (NLC) in partnership with Results for America (RFA), a lead partner within Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities, will cultivate several opportunities […]
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Michigan city and township officials respond to FOIA from ‘Emily’
City and township officials in Mason County and across the state were rocked last week by a mysterious Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all copies of all Election Day ballots and personal absentee voter information from the 2016 presidential election. The request came from an organization called United Impact Group with a listed […]
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The News & Observer: The Freedom of Information Act isn’t just for journalists. Here’s how you can use it too.
If you follow The News & Observer’s investigative stories, you’ve probably seen this phrase: “a Freedom of Information Act request” or “obtained through a public records request.” Those requests are made through what’s known as FOIA — journalists pronounce it “FOY-ah” — and refer to laws that govern public information. While news reporters are some of the most […]
BYU says it doesn’t have to release police interview with MTC leader accused of assault,
Brigham Young University filed three separate lawsuits Tuesday challenging a ruling by the State Records Committee that an interview between a BYU police officer and a former leader of the Missionary Training Center accused of sexual assaulting a woman in the 1980s should be made public. Lawyers for the private Provo university, which is owned by The […]
The Future Of Policing Using Pre-Crime Technology
When it comes to today’s technology, science fiction rarely remains fiction long. Technology has revolutionized parts of our daily lives, from health care to transportation. Apps on our phones track our fitness and summon Uber rides. With pre-crime technology, law enforcement is poised to leap into the 21st century with data-driven, predictive policing. Minority Report Jumps […]
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Opinion: Government ‘transparency’ has gone too far
by Mitch Daniels to the Washington Post Dave Eggers’s 2013 novel “The Circle” depicts a world where demands for “openness” annihilate privacy and personal autonomy, creating a dystopian nightmare. Public officials in the tale try to outdo each other in going “clear” by wearing body cameras and microphones every waking moment. For most readers, the […]
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Today, hundreds Of newspaper editorials state: “We’re Not Enemies Of The People”
The nation’s newsrooms are pushing back against President Donald Trump with a coordinated series of newspaper editorials condemning his attacks on “fake news” and suggestion that journalists are the enemy. The Boston Globe invited newspapers across the country to stand up for the press with editorials on Thursday, and several began appearing online a day earlier. Nearly […]
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Why Tennessee Is Challenging the DOJ’s Ethics
The Justice Department has picked a fight with an obscure ethics agency in Tennessee about how much evidence — called “discovery” — federal prosecutors should have to hand over to defense attorneys there. It’s the kind of little-noticed move the department makes all the time but could have a lasting impact on the criminal justice […]
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