News from 2015

RTKL Live Webinar

Craig J. Staudenmaier and Joshua D. Bonn will participate in an upcoming live webinar: Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law: Reducing Time and Expense February 17, 2016 – 1:00PM EST – 2… Read On

Seasonal Attorney-Client Memo

To: Kris “Santa Claus” Kringle, CEO, North Pole Industries CC: Jack Frost, Vice President, Human, Elf and Reindeer Resources From: Pepper Mintstix, Esquire, Chair, Nauman Smith Holiday Division In Re: Case File Update Date: December 25, 2015 As requested, below is a summary of the current matters we are handling for North Pole Industries as of December 25… Read On

Nauman Smith, WITF Host Event on Future History of Media

Panel moderator, Mike Greenwald, with panelists from left to right, Kathleen Pavelko, President & CEO of WITF; Randy Parker, Managing Editor of the York Daily Record, Gregory Steirer, Assistant Professor of English & Film Studies at Dickinson College and Cate Barron, Vice President of Content for PA Media Group. Harrisburg, PA – The challenge of delivering quality journalism in a world where everyone with internet access is providing content was the focus of a recent panel discussion hosted by Harrisburg law firm Nauman Smith and public broadcasting station WITF.  … Read On

Emails Showing Employee Misconduct Are Not Public Records

The Commonwealth Court has held emails documenting agency employees receipt and delivery of pornography on public computers are not public records. Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General v. the Philadelphia Inquirer, ____ A.3d _____, No. 2096 C.D. 2014 (Pa.Cmwlth., Nov. 19, 2015). The court reasoned “… emails should not be considered ‘records’ just because they are sent or received using an agency email address or by virtue of their location on an agency-owned computer… Read On

PA Supreme Court Clarifies Accessibility of Government Contractor/Subcontractor Records

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a pair of decisions[1] to clarify the extent that government agencies must disclose records documenting public money paid to government contractors and subcontractors. First, records in the possession of an agency that “deal with” the disbursement of public funds are public records, even if such records contain a government contractor’s trade secrets or confidential proprietary information… Read On

Governor May Not Remove Executive Director of Office of Open Records Without Cause

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has affirmed a decision by the Commonwealth Court that reinstated Eric Arneson as the Executive Director of the Office of Open Records.   The Supreme Court agreed that the OOR is an independent body and that the Executive Director is insulated from the Governor’s power to remove appointees at will. Justice Baer, joined by Chief Justice Saylor and Justice Eakin… Read On

Clean Air Council Sues to Stop Sunoco Pipeline, LP

On August 27, 2015, the Clean Air Council, a Philadelphia based environmental rights group, sued Sunoco Pipeline, LP (“SPLP”) in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas challenging the status of SPLP as a public utility under the Pennsylvania Public Utility Code and its authority to exercise the right of eminent domain for construction of the Mariner East II Pipeline Project (“Mariner II”)… Read On

Police Dash Cams are Public Records

The Commonwealth Court held recently that state police dash cams (Mobile Video Recorders, “MVRs”) are public records under certain circumstances and are not automatically exempt under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law (open records law) exemption for ‘investigative’ records. Pennsylvania State Police v. Grove, 1146 C.D. 2014 (Pa. Cmwlth. Jul. 7, 2015). The Court affirmed an earlier decision of the Office of Open Records (OOR) which concluded that video from one state police patrol car… Read On

Use of Conviction and Arrest Records in Hiring Decisions

While I practice in employment law, and advise clients on the use of conviction records in making hiring decisions, the issue recently struck me personally. A relative committed a felony as a teenager. He served 15 years in prison and was released several years ago. He eventually found night shift work in a manufacturing facility. After his wife obtained a day job with full benefits… Read On

Nauman Smith Partner Named Best Lawyer

Nauman Smith managing partner Craig J. Staudenmaier has been named in the 22nd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Commercial Litigation. Craig concentrates his practice in the areas of state and federal litigation and Right-to-Know/media law. He routinely represents clients in all phases of the litigation process including mediation and arbitration… Read On


Subscribe to our Newsletter