Challenge mounted to removal of public database of doctor discipline and malpractice

Newspaper associations and public interest groups are protesting a move by the Obama administration to withhold a data bank created by Congress in 1986 to assist hospitals and state licensing boards to check doctor’s records for discipline and malpractice. The records had been useful in creating laws to protect the public as reported by Blythe [...]

California Supreme Court to hear case challenging restrictions on releasing computer data

Why is okay to withhold information transferred to electronic format when the same information in document form is available under the California Public Records Act( (CPRA)? That is the question the California Supreme Court will consider in reviewing a Court of Appeal decision that Orange County could charge the Sierra Club $300,000 for the Orange [...]

Open meetings: City council barred from taking private tour of water facility

California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris demonstrated the long reach of the state’s open meeting law, the Brown Act,  in her opinion that for majority of a Southern California city council to take an invitation-only tour of a Northern California water district facility would be a violation of the law. Harris also said that even if [...]

Miami Beach police allegedly confiscate video of police shooting

After Miami Beach police shot and killed a suspect on a public street, they allegedly confiscated a video devise from a witness Narces Benoit and roughed up him and his girlfriend in the process. The police said Benoit was seized as a witness and denied that they stomped on his cellphone. Free press supporters say [...]

Editorial argues for revealing California Legislators’ calendars

In an editorial the San Jose Mercury News argued that current law requires state legislators to open their appointment calendars to public scrutiny. The editorial stated that with 40 percent of legislation introduced in the last two-year session written by special interests, it is essential for the public to know how this happens and the [...]

Challenge mounted against secrecy for California legislators’ calendars

California legislators have rejected a request from media and open government groups to open their appointment calendars to the public. In a letter denying the request, the legislators said they could not provide information on appointments out of “concerns regarding privacy, security and legislative privilege.” The refusal may be challenged in court. The San Jose [...]

Study shows traditional media plays crucial role in enforcing open govenment

Research by a Brigham Young professor revealed that newspapers are behind almost every court case and law promoting public access and open government. With newspaper revenues shrinking, it is not guaranteed that as bloggers take over much of the reporting that they will be able to challenge government agencies. The online news publication ProPublica that [...]

Loading up costs of public records requests defeats access

In a guest commentary in The Salt Lake Tribune, Brigham Young professor Joel Campbell says that a proposed new public record request law in Utah would hurt public access to records. “[The law]…would not only pay fees to cover the ‘actual cost’ of providing the records, but it also added new charges for overhead and [...]

Federal appeals court rules lower court must unseal Google report

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted MediaPost’s request for a court document with details of Google’s compliance with an order for it to deactivate a Gmail user’s account. The court ruled the district court had not made the case that the public had no right to access the report. The dispute originated with [...]

Federal Judicial Center releases guide on sealed courts

The Federal Judicial Center released a guide for federal judges deciding whether to seal court records and proceedings. The 22-page booklet includes a history of case law on secret proceedings and a list of First and Sixth Amendment issues. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, February 25, 2011, by Lyndsey Wajert. [...]

Wall Street Journal sues for access to Medicare fraud database

The Wall Street Journal has filed to overturn a longstanding injunction that blocks access to records of Medicare fraud and the doctors implicated in the fraud. -db Dow Jones Press Release January 25, 2011 NEW YORK – The publisher of The Wall Street Journal filed court papers today to overturn a 31-year-old court injunction that [...]

Santa Ana: Closed sessions before council meetings thwart public access

Santa Ana residents are finding it difficult to address the city council on matters of concern since the council always starts their meetings in closed session with no set time for resurfacing for the public session. -db Voice of OC October 7, 2010 By Norberto Santana, Jr. Santa Ana resident Mike Tardiff has a couple [...]

Morgan Hill mayor denies violating Brown Act

A citizen accused the Morgan Hill mayor of violating California’s open meeting law when the mayor refused to allow him to speak during a recent city council meeting. The mayor said the man couldn’t speak because he did not fill out a speaker card and give it to the clerk at the start of the [...]

Los Angeles D.A. says Brown Act effective deterrent

Los Angeles County District Attorney staff members say they enforce the Brown Act aggressively but seek compliance rather punishment and has only had to bring two civil suits to enforce the act in the last eight years. They urge public officials to embrace the act rather than treat it as an obstacle. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise October 2, [...]

Open government group pushes for release of Defense contractor ratings

Hopeful that President Barack Obama’s early commitment to transparency is genuine, the FOIA Group, Inc. is asking the Defense Department to allow public access to a Defense Department database that rates contractors. -DB NextGov August 14, 2009 By Aliya Sternstein The Obama administration, committed to becoming the most transparent in history, upheld a Bush-era practice of [...]

California personnel rules block reasonable public disclosure of police misconduct

An editorial in The Monterey County Herald argues that laws restricting access to records about police misconduct do not permit scrutiny of police officials in administrative positions who should not be able to hide behind secrecy provisions. -DB The Monterey County Herald Editorial August 14, 2009 Before it’s over, don’t be surprised if the apparent suspension [...]

Law proposed to shed light on state university foundations

University officials claim that a law forcing disclosure financial dealings of nonprofit university foundations serving state institutions would be too costly. Open government advocates say that recent expenditures, illegal or questionable, show the need for disclosure. -DB Capitol Weekly August 13, 2009 By Maryam Ali Free-speech groups are trying to force the state’s public universities to [...]

Pentagon wants public input on social networking policy

Faced with the arduous task of framing a policy on social media that balances security and the need for troops to communicate with friends and family, the Defense Department is asking the public for their ideas. -DB NextGov August 10, 2009 By Bob Brewin How do you develop a policy for using social media in the [...]

Homeland Security wins praise for engaging public in planning

The Homeland Security Department held the first of three online dialogues this week to allow the public to comment on their long-term stratigic plans. -DB NextGov July 3, 2009 By Jill R. Aitoro The Homeland Security Department launched its first of three online dialogues on Monday that ask the public to comment on the department’s long-term [...]

Public officials not twittering advantageously

A public relations expert says that a scant number of public officials have used Twitter to address their constituencies on substantive issues in a thoughtful way. -DB MediaShift Commentary July 29, 2009 By Mark Hannah Are high profile public officials using Twitter as a noble tool to bypass the proverbial “mainstream media filter” and communicate directly [...]

No transparency in the Oakland shootings of SWAT team sergeants

Troubling questions remain about how such experienced Oakland policemen were killed by a single gunman in March. The police chief is withholding 911 tapes and other documents to flout open government laws and keep the media and others from seeking the truth. -DB The Oakland Tribune Commentary July 26, 2009 By Thomas Peele THE SHOOTING DEATHS [...]