|
|
| Judge backs reporter in open records act challenge of prisons |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/10/2005 |
|
A judge has ordered the California Department of Corrections to turn over documents to a freelance reporter in what apparently is the first lawsuit to go to a hearing since an open records measure was approved by voters in November. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Steven Brick ruled Tuesday that the California Public Records Act requires the department to provide parolee information to Stephen James, who writes for the alternative weekly Sacramento News and Review newspaper. James was represented by attorney James Chadwick, who helped draft Proposition 59. The proposition approved by 83 percent of voters requires judges to interpret state law broadly when it comes to granting access to government documents, and narrowly on efforts to withhold them. The department had argued the parolee information was protected under a different state law, and must be kept secret to safeguard parolees' privacy rights. Brick disagreed on both counts. James had asked last February for identifying information on all inmates paroled from Mule Creek State Prison in December 2003 for an article about the department's parole program, its recidivism rate and related issues. Now, he and the department have agreed he will get the information for this month instead. Brick required the department to provide that information by mid-February. The judge rejected the department's request that James be required to pay the costs of preparing the information, and ordered the department to pay James' legal costs. The department has 20 days to appeal the ruling. A prison spokeswoman said they hadn't reviewed the ruling and could not comment. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think