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RAIN 0309 Weekly Update: Open Records (19)
Washington Post 03/03/02
Bush View of Secrecy Is Stirring Frustration
Disclosure Battle Unites Right and Left
By Ellen Nakashima
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28109-2002Mar2.html
National Law Journal 03/03/02
Invisible-Ink Formula Stays Invisible
June D. Bell
The National Law Journal
A World War I-era invisible-ink formula must remain out of sight to protect
national security, a federal judge has ruled.
Siding with the Central Intelligence Agency's efforts to keep the 85-year-old
documents classified, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson rejected a
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for 16 pages of documents on how to
create and detect invisible ink.
http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTCo...e&showsummary=0&
useoverridetemplate=ZZZHCC0Q95C
Sun-Sentinel 03/05/02
Florida judge said he's concerned about autopsy law
By Amanda Riddle
The Associated Press
A judge Tuesday said he was concerned about the constitutionality of a
year-old state law restricting public access to autopsy photos passed after
the death of race car driver Dale Earnhardt.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-35autopsyphotos.story?
coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dfront
Sun-Sentinel 03/06/02
Judge to rule in 2 or 3 weeks on challenge to autopsy law
By Noreen Marcus
Staff Writer
Is the year-old state law that keeps autopsy photos away from the public a
reasonable protection of grieving families' privacy, or an unconstitutional
breach of Florida's public records law?
The question is before Broward County Circuit Judge Leroy Moe, who said at a
hearing Tuesday he will rule in two to three weeks on a motion that could
send a challenge to the so-called Dale Earnhardt law to a higher court. The
challenge, filed by the Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel, is supported
by almost a dozen other media organizations.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cautopsy06mar06.story?coll=
sfla%2Dnews%2Dbroward
The Spokesman-Review 02/28/02
Bill to allow judges to close records killed
Senate committee votes 6-3 against government documents measure
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=022802&ID=s1108103
Associated Press 03/04/02
Open-government advocates criticize Oklahoma records bill
Bills aimed at combating terrorism by restricting access to public records
are moving through several state legislatures.
l In Oklahoma, legislation pending in the state House would close to the
public records such as the time of school board meetings and the location of
high-pressure gas lines on their property.
The proposed laws are meant to protect Oklahomans from terrorism, but some
lawmakers and public groups say the proposals go too far.
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=15817
New York Times 03/06/02
Judge Orders More Papers on Task Force Released
By DON VAN NATTA Jr.
WASHINGTON, March 5 — A federal judge ordered seven government agencies today
to release thousands of documents related to Vice President Dick Cheney's
national energy task force.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/06/business/06CHEN.html
Amityville Record 03/6/02
Disagreement over documents at town hall gets even uglier
by Carolyn James
Babylon Town Attorney Lynne Bizzarro filed an incident report with the
Suffolk County Police Department’s First Precinct last week saying that
Councilman Lindsay Henry
intimidated and harassed her when he caused disturbance in her office after
being told he could not get copies of a draft contract he had requested. The
case is being investigated, but no charges have been filed.
http://www.amityvillerecord.com/news/2002/0306/Front_Page/008.html
The Spokesman-Review 03/05/02
Kempthorne signs records-law deal
Boise _ Gov. Dirk Kempthorne signed into law on Monday a compromise bill to
protect government records of buildings and infrastructure, including threat
assessments and evacuation plans, when releasing them would endanger public
safety.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=030502&ID=s1110979&
cat=section.idaho
Sun-Sentinel 03/07/02
Court orders firm to pay Herald legal fees in records fight
Associated Press
MIAMI -- The Herald has won $331,000 in legal fees from an airport consulting
firm it took to court to gain access to lobbyist records.
The Third District Court of Appeal said in its Wednesday ruling that the
company's efforts to keep the documents secret ``amounted to the very
definition of stonewalling'' and could be criminal.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-37herald.story?coll=sfla%2Dbusi
ness%2Dheadlines
Wilmington Star 03/07/02
Historian sheds light on patriot
By Mark Schreiner
ABOARD THE SNAPDRAGON | More than 220 years after he died, funeral rites were
read Wednesday for the first time over what is believed to be the watery
gravesite of Revolutionary War patriot William Cains.
New historical research has found documents that may shed light on the life
of Mr. Cains, a previously unrecognized patriot, and on a 1776 battle on Bald
Head about which little was thought to be known.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/news/stories/9664newsstorypage.html
Orlando Sentinel 03/08/02
You don't have to go on record for record
By Pamela J. Johnson
The state Supreme Court on Thursday agreed with the Orlando Sentinel and
ruled that people seeking public records from Florida courts need not reveal
why they want the documents.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-loccourt08030802mar08.story?coll
=orl-news-headlines
Associated Press 03/08/02
Requests for Florida court records must be in writing
By The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Citizens' requests for public records from Florida courts
have to be in writing, the state Supreme Court said in a unanimous ruling
yesterday.
People seeking records from either the executive or legislative branches of
government aren't required to put their requests in writing, the court said.
But the Supreme Court also explained that people do not have to reveal why
they want the records they're seeking. The high court also said anyone who
has difficulty putting their record request in writing can get help from the
court staff.
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=15847
New York Times 03/08/02
Court: Kohl Records Can Stay Sealed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN (AP) -- Wiretap recordings of Helmut Kohl collected by the East German
secret police were sealed by a court Friday, handing the former chancellor a
victory with broad implications for public access to the communist era spy
files.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Germany-Stasi-Kohl.html
The Guardian 03/09/02
Thousands of Stasi files lost to history by Kohl ruling
John Hooper in Berlin
Germany's disgraced former chancellor, Helmut Kohl, yesterday won the right
to block all access to the files kept on him by East Germany's communist
spymasters.
The ruling, by an appeal court in Berlin, is expected to have a profound
effect on research into Germany's cold war history, as it also puts out of
bounds records kept on a vast range of people, from former communist party
bosses to headteachers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,664480,00.html
The Times 03/09/02
Cold War Kohl tapes stay locked in the past