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Judge Nealon of the Lackwanna County Court of Common Pleas issued an Order on October 29, 2014 ordering the retention of an outside expert to assist the Court in determining the ability to retrieve emails in order to properly decide the issue raised in this Right-to-Know request. The case, Government Study Commission v. The Scranton Times L.P… Read On
In a decision involving the predecisional deliberative exemption under Section 708(b)(10) and the assertion of the attorney-client privilege, the Commonwealth Court reminded the Office of Open Records and trial courts of the need for sufficient analysis and findings of fact to allow proper appellate review. In Heintzelman v. DCED, Judge Simpson reminded the probable fact-finders to set forth a detailed analysis of findings made after in camera review of documents… Read On
At the beginning of the last legislative session, Senate Majority Leader Domenic Pileggi introduced a bill (SB 444) that proposed numerous revisions to the most recent version of the RTKL enacted in 2009. Although the Senate unanimously passed the amended version of the bill in late September 2014, the House took no action before the end of the session. … Read On
On November 10, the Supreme Court announced its decision in the case of Gaming Control Board v. Office of Open Records. The decision increases the burden on requesters to make certain that a request for records be addressed to the Open Records Officer of the agency involved and received by him/her in order to trigger the protections of and the deadlines required under the RTKL… Read On
A trial court reviewing a final determination of the Office of Open Records (OOR) has a duty to investigate allegations that the agency did not respond to a Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) request in good faith. Chambersburg Area School District v. Dorsey, No. 1358 C.D. 2013, (Pa. Cmwlth. Aug. 20, 2014). Where an agency suddenly discovers and discloses responsive records two years after the initial public records request… Read On
For the third consecutive year, Managing Partner Craig J. Staudenmaier has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 21st Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice 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
When a governmental agency decides some requested information is exempt under the RTKL, on initial appeal, an Office of Open Records (OOR) appeals officer is tasked with determining whether the agency has met its burden to prove that such information is in fact exempt. But how would an appeals officer know if the information met a RTKL exemption if he or she could never view it? Read On
On remand from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Court issued this opinion further defining the exceptions under the RTKL. The issues were (1) whether descriptions of legal services provided to Senate employees were “privileged” under the RTKL, as attorney work-product; (2) whether federal or state law requiring grand jury secrecy prohibited disclosing the names of those employees under the second RTKL exception… Read On
Managing Partner Craig J. Staudenmaier has authored an article, entitled “Technology vs Privacy” for the July/August issue of The Pennsylvania Lawyer. The article is a prelude to a panel discussion of privacy and the impact of social media on Wednesday, July 16th at Penn State University’s Lehigh Valley branch campus, hosted by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Bar/Press Committee and PCN… Read On
“Trade secrets” and “confidential proprietary information” are not only exempt from the RTKL, but wide open to judicial interpretation that will surely shape the law’s effectiveness as a true means to access information. 65 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 67.708. Take for example the courts’ broad interpretation of “personal identification information” which prevented the disclosure of agency-issued contact information belonging to state executive-level officials and employees… Read On
Under the RTKL agency records are presumably “public records” available for inspection by the public unless “exempt from being disclosed under any other Federal or State law.” 65 P.S. § 67.102. The question then becomes whether public debts (like unpaid taxes or sewer bills) must be disclosed to the under the RTKL, given that Pennsylvania’s Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act (FCEUA) prohibits creditors from publishing lists of customers who have outstanding debts… Read On
State and federal courts alike have long upheld the notion that the right to speak anonymously or pseudonymously is protected by the First Amendment. The rationale is that political speech cannot truly be “free” where a speaker fears retaliation for expressing one’s ideas. The principle, however, acts as natural roadblock to discovering the identity of a speaker charged with defamation… Read On
