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NC GOP requests 14 years of records from Attorney General Roy Cooper

By admin | March 23, 2015

The News & Observer has reported on a series of public records request to Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office by the North Carolina Republican Party. The article quotes SMVT attorney Brandon J. Huffman on the public records law: While the GOP request is a large one, media lawyer Brandon Huffman of Raleigh said the law doesn’t have…

Police turn over video from officer shooting dog

By admin | March 23, 2015

Gaston Gazette has reported that one North Carolina police department decided to release police body camera video in the wake of the non-fatal shooting of a dog. The department cleared the officer involved of any wrongdoing and released the video to combat rumors that the dog was shot for no reason. The article quotes SMVT attorney…

Charlotte officials used personal email for public work

By admin | March 20, 2015

In the wake of the revelation that Hillary Clinton used her personal email address while Secretary of State, rather than a government address, the Charlotte Observer has reported on similar activity at the local level. The story includes several examples of public officials using personal Gmail or Yahoo! accounts for official business. In some cases, the paper…

How open are Asheville’s records?

By admin | March 20, 2015

The Citizen-Times has published a thorough article on the City of Asheville’s public records practices as part of its ongoing reporting on Sunshine Week. The article quotes SMVT partner and North Carolina Press Association counsel Amanda Martin several times: “Our democracy is based on having an educated public,” North Carolina Press Association Attorney Amanda Martin says of…

New economic development group could keep more incentives records private

By admin | March 18, 2015

The News & Observer has reported on a new public-private partnership that will lead efforts to bring companies to North Carolina. The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina will operate within a framework outside of the normal public records law, despite being funded by public money. The N&O quoted SMVT attorney Amanda Martin in the story. “A…

Wake school board security policy may violate the law

By admin | March 17, 2015

WRAL reports on changes to Wake County Schools’ security policy for its meetings. Now, meetings will require attendees show identification and submit to a simplified background check before entering the meeting. The article quotes SMVT attorney Mike Tadych, and suggests that the policy may violate the North Carolina Open Meetings laws. “There are ways to…

Hundreds of secret WNC county meetings, with few details released

By admin | March 15, 2015

The Asheville Citizen Times reports on an investigation by Carolina Public Press into how often county commissioners in North Carolina’s western counties went into closed session last year. The article quotes SMVT attorney Amanda Martin: “I get called with some frequency” about closed sessions, said Amanda Martin, an attorney for the North Carolina Press Association, which…

NC policies on government emails hard to police, lead to delays in public access

By admin | March 15, 2015

In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s now-famous use of her personal email address for official business while Secretary of State, WRAL has investigated North Carolina’s laws on public employee emails. Federal and state law are similar: public business on private email accounts creates a public record. The account holder is the custodian of those records.…

Marion police to get body cameras

By admin | March 11, 2015

The Marion, North Carolina, Police Department plans to equip each officer with a body camera, the McDowell News reports. The story quotes SMVT attorney Amanda Martin on whether the recordings from the cameras are public records: Body camera footage and public record requests are a hot topic across the state and nation right now. The…

Hugh Stevens to speak on panel at Open Government Coalition Sunshine Day