The North Carolina Open Government Coalition is leading a project to educate the public and encourage collaboration among journalists covering the University of North Carolina. The coalition, partnering with journalists, professors and nonprofit organizations, filed eight requests with the university, seeking records related to the hiring of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones as the Knight…
Tag: North Carolina
News Leaders Association honors First Amendment Award winners for advancing Freedom of Information principles
Journalists uncovered decades of New York police disciplinary records, detailed a university’s handling of sexual misconduct claims, and investigated deaths inside detention facilities. Their efforts have been recognized by the News Leaders Association, which announced its 2021 First Amendment Award recipients on May 12, 2021. The awards recognize “the best journalism advancing Freedom of Information…
Rules on releasing police body-camera footage vary; nine states are most restrictive, The Hill says
Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming have the most restrictive laws regarding the disclosure of police body-camera recordings. That’s according to a May 10, 2021, article in The Hill. “With no federal requirements on releasing police videos, states often differ in their approach to making the footage publicly available,…
NC: Military panel skirts open-meetings law
Last week, a state commission that advocates for the military dodged a public discussion of a controversial wind-energy project.
In doing so, government-transparency advocates say the panel appears to have violated North Carolina’s open-meetings law.
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NC: Judge Denies WFAE Journalist’s Petition for Police Shooting Video
This week, WFAE’s Lisa Worf has taken listeners through the process of seeking a court order to compel Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department to release video of a police shooting.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Eric Levinson denied the request. WFAE's petition was the first in Mecklenburg County under a new law known as House Bill 972.
As of Oct. 1, it’s no longer up to police departments to release video. Instead, anyone who wants body and dash cam video released must go through the court system.
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NC Gov. McCrory claims immunity from public records claim
A lawyer for Gov. Pat McCrory told the state Court of Appeals Tuesday morning that the state should be immune from any judgment finding the current administration either cannot or does not comply with open records requests in a timely manner, as alleged by a coalition of media groups.
The group includes Capitol Broadcasting Co., the parent company of WRAL News, and other media companies, as well as the Southern Environmental Law Center and the North Carolina Justice Center. All make regular use of public records in their work.
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NC among states to limit access to police videos
Amid a growing outcry over police shootings of black men, many states are taking actions to restrict public access to police video shot by dashboard and body cameras.
In North Carolina — where Keith Lamont Scott was fatally shot last week by Charlotte police — a new law takes effect Saturday that some experts say will make it more difficult for the public to see video shot by police.
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News groups win round in North Carolina public records fight
The McCrory administration has lost a round in its court fight against news organizations that contend the state has systematically defied its own public records law.
That law requires that most government records be made available to the public as “promptly as possible.”
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North Carolina moves toward regulating police body cameras
Police-worn body cameras would be regulated for the first time in North Carolina under legislation that will be considered this year.
A legislative committee on Thursday approved a draft bill that would not require law enforcement agencies to use the cameras, but would leave it up to each department in consultation with city or county officials.
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COALITION SUES NORTH CAROLINA OVER CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ‘ANTI-SUNSHINE’ LAW
Raleigh, N.C. – A coalition of animal protection, consumer rights, food safety, and whistleblower protection organizations filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of a North Carolina law designed to deter whistleblowers and undercover investigators from publicizing information about corporate misconduct.
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