NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for May 11, 2012

A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week:

Is secrecy justified in George Zimmerman case?

On the very first day George Zimmerman faced a judge on charges of murdering Trayvon Martin, it appeared the special prosecutor and Zimmerman's attorney were working together to keep certain records secret.

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Michigan State court to decide if fiscal review meetings must be open to public

From Detroit News:

Financial review teams have convened behind closed doors in Michigan for decades to scrutinize the spending of troubled cities and school districts.

But when a 10-member review team descended on Detroit — the state's largest city — in December, the secrecy didn't sit well with wary residents.

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Things you should have easy access to, but don’t

From Detroit Free Press

About five years ago, finding out whether your new neighbor spent time behind bars for murder, rape, robbery — even writing bad checks — required little more than an Internet connection.

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