Craig Staudenmaier Named ‘Hero of the 50 States’
HARRISBURG, PA, October 1, 2021 – Nauman Smith partner, Craig Staudenmaier, has been inducted into the National Freedom of Information Coalition Open Government Hall of Fame as a ‘Hero of the 50 States.’ The National Freedom of Information Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes press freedom, litigation, and legislative and administrative reforms that ensure open…
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Top Ten Most Significant RTKL (and Sunshine Act) Cases of 2020
Likely due to the COVID 19 pandemic, 2020 saw a large decline in the number of appellate decisions interpreting the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law (RTKL). Interestingly, the number of Sunshine Act cases increased, likely the result of Act 15 of 2020, which allowed political subdivisions to hold public meetings remotely. The biggest case of the year saw the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections walloped with a huge $118,000 plus attorney fee sanction for failing to conduct a good faith search for public records…
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What Does the Affirmance by the Supreme Court of an Award of Attorney Fees Exceeding $118,000 Under the Right to Know Law Mean to the Average Requester?
In December, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed an award of over $118,000 in legal fees under the Right-to-Know Law to Uniontown Newspapers, Inc., publisher of the Herald Standard, Uniontown’s home newspaper. This decision was the culmination of a request for records first submitted in September 2014 and a six-year battle by the paper to obtain public records from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) concerning incidents of cancer and respiratory illnesses of inmates and employees at SCI-Fayette. …
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