Immunity Agreements Are Not Per Se Exempt From Disclosure under the RTKL
In Coley v. Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, No. 317 C.D. 2013 (Pa. Cmwlth. October 7, 2013), the Commonwealth Court, in an opinion by Judge Leavitt, addressed whether witness statements and an immunity agreement contained in a District Attorney’s (“DA”) file were exempt from disclosure under the RTKL. The court held that the witness statements were exempt from disclosure…
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Rare Award of Attorney’s Fees in Right-to-Know Law Case Upheld by Commonwealth Court
On October 3, 2013, the Commonwealth Court issued Staub and the Citizens’ Voice v. City of Wilkes-Barre and LAG Towing, Inc., No. 2140 C.D. 2012 (Pa. Cmwlth. September 12, 2013), an Unreported Memorandum Opinion, penned by President Judge Pellegrini. The court upheld the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas order directing the City of Wilkes-Barre (“City”) to pay 10% of the costs the Citizens’ Voice newspaper incurred litigating its RTK request. …
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The Supreme Court Establishes the Standard and Scope of Review in Right-to-Know Cases
On August 20, 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down the long-awaited decision in Bowling v. OOR/PEMA, No. 20 MAP 2011. The decision comes almost two years since it was argued on September 13, 2011. In the 41 page majority opinion authored by Justice McCaffery and joined in by Justices Saylor (concurring), Eakin and Baer affirms the holdings penned by Judge Simpson of the Commonwealth Court…
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The Aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision on DOMA
The Windsor Decision Creates Myriad of Questions While the plaintiff in the Defense of Marriage Act case, Edith Windsor, will get back $363,000 in federal estate taxes plus interest, the future is murky for the estimated 114,000 legally married same-sex couples living in the United States. That’s because a state line still decides who is married and who is not…
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