‘Independent review’ of US spying policy not subject to open-records law
From Watchdog.org: A special committee ordered by President Obama to review the legality of the National Security Agency’s spying programs will not be subject to government transparency laws. The president created the NSA review group in ...
The Open Government Partnership comes to London
From Reuters: Next week, the Summit of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) will be held in London. Established in 2011, under American and Brazilian leadership, the OGP is a group of 60 countries, including the US, the UK, Brazil and 6 African c ...
3rd Circuit decision allows FBI to continue to withhold race data from ACLU
From NJ.com: In 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigation revised its operational guidelines known as the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide. Under the new marching orders, the document allowed agents to engage in limited racial and ethn ...
Cybersecurity directive from Bush kept secret
From Courthouse News Service: (CN) - President George W. Bush's presidential directive on cybersecurity is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, a federal judge ruled. The Electronic Privacy Information Center had filed the FOIA request i ...
US government secrecy making historical research difficult
From Al Jazeera America: While much has been made of the government's current penchant for secrecy, few have noticed that this atmosphere now shrouds government history as well. Working on a biography of a noted Washington journalist, I placed a ...
Frank Gibson: No excuse for Hendersonville’s public records saga
From The Tennessean: It has always troubled me that ignorance of the law can be used as a legal defense for not complying with the Tennessee Public Records Act. That absurdity came back a few weeks ago when The Hendersonville Star News reported o ...
Ohio Supreme Court rules that a governor’s pardon does not automatically seal records of the crime
From Cleveland.com: COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a person granted a pardon by the governor is not automatically entitled to have the records of their crime and conviction sealed from public view. Rather, absent requirements in Ohio’s law that it be granted automatically, it should be evaluated on a case by case basis to determine if it is appropriate, the court ruled. Visit Ceveland.com for more. ====== read more ...
Delaware judges can’t do secret arbitrations, court rules
From Bloomberg: Delaware’s Chancery Court, the country’s leading venue for securities litigation, can’t be used for secret arbitration proceedings in business disputes, a federal appeals court ruled. The arbitration program s ...
Judge rules emails requested by newspaper should be public, county weighing appeal
From TribTown.com: KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A judge has ruled that the Knoxville News Sentinel should have access to Knox County emails it requested under the state's open records law. The newspaper reports Blount County Circuit Court Judge David Duggan ruled on Tuesday that nine of the 13 emails in question were public record and the county should release them. Visit TribTown.com for more. ====== ...
