Senate fined for failing to disclose member's printing, postage expenses; candidate complained incumbents had unfair advantage
Article Abstract:
The New York Court of Appeals ruled in Weston v. Sloan that records of the State Senate's postage and mailing expenses were appropriate subject of a request under the state's Freedom of Information Law. Senate candidate Michael Siris brought the suit because he believed that reimbursement of these expenses provided incumbents with an unfair advantage and wanted to let the public know how their funds were being spent. The Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division in finding that the preamble of the Freedom of Information Law should be considered as well as the letter of the law.
Publication Name: News Media & the Law
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0149-0737
Year: 1995
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County required to provide tax records in electronic format
Article Abstract:
The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled in Higg-A-Rella v. County of Essex that real property tax rolls stored in computer form were subject to common law right of access and must be provided upon a showing of the requester's legitimate interest in the information. The Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts that the documents were not covered by the state's Right-to-Know laws, but it found that the county had no right to insist that only hard copies be given for right of access requests. The court remanded to the trial court to determine proper fees, and the county settled.
Publication Name: News Media & the Law
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0149-0737
Year: 1995
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Court rules in favor of privacy for anonymous writer
Article Abstract:
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in Ortiz v. United States Department of Health & Human Services that a woman that had welfare fraud charges levied against her had no right to access the anonymous letters that had tipped social service agencies. The woman believed that the anonymous letter was an attempt by her landlord to force her out of a rent-controlled apartment. The court found that the confidential source's privacy interest in the letter was greater than the public interest in disclosure.
Publication Name: News Media & the Law
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0149-0737
Year: 1996
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