Newsflash: Rockweed Not a Fish
The ability to obtain public records in New Jersey is about to undergo a massive overhaul. A new bill, S2930, (the “Reform Bill”) was signed into law by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on June 5, 2024, and has the potential...more
Police Drone Footage Only Exempt From Disclosure - In Some Circumstances The California Supreme Court recently denied the City of Chula Vista’s Petition for Review in Castañares v. Superior Court (Dec. 2023) 98 Cal.App.5th...more
When it comes to managing FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and similar public records requests, resourcing your team effectively is crucial. Even with a small team, you can achieve a lot by appointing an expert internally...more
The number of public records requests filed each year is on the rise, presenting a significant challenge for government agencies. One of the core obstacles faced by these agencies is the tight timing constraints imposed by...more
Congratulations on your election to the board of education and thank you for volunteering your time to your community. As you begin to embark on your board journey you will unfortunately, find that way too much of your time...more
As the summer (and your vacation) becomes a distant memory, and the days get shorter and colder, I’ll bet you have had passing thoughts about changes to Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act’s (“FOIA”), especially in light...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not obligate a public body to produce records that it does not already maintain in response to a FOIA request. Further, the Court...more
The federal government, the District of Columbia, and each of the 50 states have Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws that allow individuals to file requests for specific public documents with government agencies and...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued two non-binding opinions concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), both upholding school district decisions to exert exemptions and withhold key documents under the...more
Nearly anyone who can read a newspaper understands the meaning of a FOIL or FOIA request. FOIA refers to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows a requester to obtain documents from federal agencies, while its...more
The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) recently issued two new binding opinions concerning the FOIA—one upholding a public body’s denial of a FOIA request for union records and another finding application materials for...more
Information requested from a government agency through a local public records request or the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), may be considered private, personally identifiable information (PII) or privileged. These...more
The PAC recently released its second binding opinion of 2022, which provides helpful analysis and guidance regarding the personal and pre-decisional exemptions under the FOIA. The PAC determined that the City of Chicago...more
Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision regarding the FOIA, upholding a public body’s redaction of traffic accident reports pursuant to Sections 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(c) of the FOIA....more
Originally enacted on July 4, 1966, the Freedom of Information Act established a statutory right of public access to Executive Branch information held by the federal government. The FOIA provides that any person has a right,...more
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor recently issued a binding opinion holding that the Illinois Freedom of Information Act exemption for predecisional records does not apply to communications from a public...more
On May 21, 2015, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in State ex rel. Schiffbauer v. Banaszak that police departments at private universities are “public offices” subject to Ohio’s public records law. This law requires such police...more
In a rare binding opinion, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) opined that certain information in the sole possession of a vendor that had contracted with the Illinois Department of Corrections...more
California Public Records Act Provision Permitting Public Agencies to Charge for “Extraction” Analyzed - Government agencies are prohibited from charging a fee to redact police body camera footage in response to a...more
A recent Illinois Appellate Court decision raises interesting questions about how provisions protecting “private information” in open records laws should be interpreted in a world in which a vast wealth of information about...more
BB&K's Christine Wood Gives Updates on AB 748 and SB 1421 in PublicCEO - Now, more than ever, Californians have greater access to police personnel records, body and dashboard camera footage and other recordings acquired by...more
In a recent decision, the Illinois Appellate Court held that the nonexistence of requested documents is an affirmative defense to a complaint grounded in the Freedom of Information Act. The court also clarified that public...more
February was a busy month for decisions about the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA” or the “Act”). ...more
Since a 2013 Illinois Appellate Court decision, City of Champaign v. Madigan, Illinois public bodies have known that three categories of emails and text messages sent to or from personal technology devices are “public...more
A recent Cook County court decision addressed a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request to Governor Bruce Rauner’s office, and shed some light on what “final” means for purposes of the “preliminary records” FOIA...more