Search

Categories

Total Results

No Record Found

View All Results
DONATE

FAC

A&A: Denied access to supervision records of high-risk parolee

FAC November 30, 2011

Q: Message I’m trying to obtain records of supervision for a high-risk parolee who is accused of murder. I sent a public records request and received a rejection letter that cites dozens of government codes in its defense. But I wonder if there’s a way to fight that rejection. After all, that information has become public in several high-profile cases such as Phillip Garrido and John Albert Gardner. I have the letter of rejection if

Read More »

Call it the Not-so-public Utilities Commission

FAC November 29, 2011

If you’re worried about natural gas pipelines running near your home or business, prepare for a long battle to get key information from California’s Public Utilities Commission. Under a 60-year-old law, vast numbers of documents — including regulatory reports and safety studies — are secret, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. What’s more, PG&E often has the last word on what the public will be able to see. A Chronicle survey shows that most states routinely

Read More »

A&A: School board keeping exorbitant attorney fees in closed session

FAC November 29, 2011

Q: As a school board member I have tried, but failed, to have the copious exorbitant legal billings by the district’s attorney released to the public.  So far the attorney’s fees of $50k to $70k per month (the amount of almost $1million is rapidly approaching) have been discussed in closed session and the rest of the board members what to keep it that way . I consider the attorney just like any other a vendor and

Read More »

A&A: Can new board member get updated on past closed sessions?

FAC November 28, 2011

Q: I am a newly elected school board member. Our upcoming agenda will contain a closed session item that has also been discussed in closed session prior to my appointment. Can I ask the staff and board members who participated in the prior closed session to divulge what was discussed? A: I am not aware of any authority specifying whether a new member of the legislative body is “a person … entitled to receive” confidential

Read More »

A&A: Should I need authorization to access arrest records?

FAC November 22, 2011

Q: I submitted a request arrest and incident reports from a police department for a case involving my client but I got a call from someone in the Records Department who said that I needed to submit signed authorization from my client. Is that the case in your practice? A: If a person were submitting a request for reports under the Public Records Act, then there would be no requirement to submit any kind of

Read More »