Search

Categories

Total Results

No Record Found

View All Results
DONATE

Asked & Answered

A&A: School district denies request for annual audit

FAC July 27, 2011

Q: The local school district  responded to my request for copies of the proposals submitted for annual bond performance audits as follows, ”The District is unable to produce the requested information until after the contract has been awarded.”  What is your opinion? A: Unfortunately, there is a California Supreme Court decision in which the court said that a response to a request for proposal (“RFP”) was not required to be disclosed to the public during

Read More »

A&A: Are worker’s comp claims public documents?

FAC July 27, 2011

Q: Are worker’s comp claims public documents, and, if so, can I file the standard public records’ request with the local public institution involved? A: California’s Labor Code provides that “[e]xcept as expressly permitted [elsewhere in the statute], a person or public or private entity not a party to a claim for workers’ compensation benefits may not obtain individually identifiable information obtained or maintained by the division on that claim. For purposes of this section,

Read More »

A&A: Making a FOIA request to the Dept. of Homeland Security

FAC July 11, 2011

Q: I’m an investigative reporter trying to obtain information from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection regarding the 32 miles of the northern border  that are considered secure; about the number of drugs, guns and weapons crossing over the border; staffing levels compared to the southern border. They say some information can’t be provided because it’s “law enforcement sensitive.” Is that a valid excuse? If not, how do I request the

Read More »

A&A: Police claims officer ‘use of force’ reports personnel not public issue

FAC July 8, 2011

Q: We are a police monitoring and accountability organization. For awhile we have been concerned about police use of force; where it is occurring and under what circumstances, and which officers are involved. We have twice asked for this information from the Police Department. Once, for several years worth of reports, which were denied to us on the grounds that they were ”evaluative reports of officer conduct akin to a personnel matter.” We made a

Read More »

A&A: How to access arrest warrants

FAC July 8, 2011

Q: I attempted to view the arrest warrants issued for the month of May, I was told I could only see the warrants for which I could provide an address or date. The County clerks said that the warrants were public but could not be viewed all together because they were not filed that way. How are arrest warrants supposed to be made available? What can I do to gain access? A: There is not

Read More »