firstamendment

Traffic Accident and DMV Records Q: I’m trying to obtain traffic accident information from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Every accident with more than $750 in damages to property, injury, or fatality is required to have a SR-1 form filled out and filed. The document states its a public document available for review and the Vehicle Code lists five portions available for review “upon request”, but the DMV is saying its only for review

College Campus Police Blotter Q: I am interested in finding out whether the police blotter on college campuses is public record. Are there any case laws regarding this particular topic? A: As you may know, under the California Public Records Act (“CPRA”), records in the possession of public entities are presumed to be public unless one of the Act’s enumerated exceptions to disclosure applies.  I am unaware of any case law specifically addressing the availability

DA Office Complaint Records Q: The DA’s Office will not provide me copies of 6 complaint refusals on a felony that I was the victim in. A: I am unsure of the meaning of your reference to “6 a complaint refusals” in your inquiry.  If the records to which you refer are copies of complaints or related records, the District Attorney’s office can legally withhold the copies you requested.  However, under the California Public Records

Government Employee Benefits Records Q: As a part of freedom of information act, government employees [names & amounts posted] receive their salaries and benefits which are sourced from funds that were generated from the tax base (tax-paying public). I want to know names and amounts of financial benefits (social services/housing) that each person in Santa Clara County receives, as those are also sourced from funds that were generated from the tax base (tax-paying public). Please

Email Correspondance Records Q: The city currently deletes all e-mail from the servers after 90 days.  Only records saved by the employee are kept in a privately maintained “.pst” file on the employees hard drive.  How long must the city maintain e-mail records, especially elected officials who discuss employee or departmental actions, concerns or opinions?   I know the Mayor criticized my actions as an employee to the fire chief, and the fire chief showed me