freedom of information

A Connecticut panel, appointed to review the state's public records laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings, heard testimony related to its charge to "recommend to lawmakers how to alter the delicate balance of victims' right to privacy and the public's right to know about crimes and the operations of agencies like police departments," The Connecticut Post reports.  One father whose son was murdered asked: '"What right do have to see my son's body or hear his last moments, just because such information is in a government file cabinet?"' The Post reported. But proponents of disclosure testified it would keep law enforcement accountable for their response in emergency situations.

Connecticut is only one of nine states restricting the public disclosure of crime scene photos, Connecticut News Junkie reports on a survey conducted by the Connecticut Office of Legislative Research. Connecticut also is only one of 11 states restricting the public disclosure of 911 calls.

"Over the past few weeks the legislature’s research staff has been compiling reports for a task force convened by lawmakers to weigh the privacy of crime victims against the public’s right to know under the state’s Freedom of Information Act," Conneticut News Junkie reports. "The panel was created by a law that carved out new disclosure restrictions on the release of some law enforcement records pertaining to homicide victims and victims who are children" in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings.

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission ruled that the 911 phone calls related to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., should be released, the Associated Press reported. The commission rejected a prosecutor's argument that there was still some law enforcement purpose for the records to remain undisclosed. An appeal is promised by law enforcement, the AP reported. The AP also said it requested the records, in part, to review the police response to the school shooting by Adam Lanza: "On the day of the shooting, the AP requested documents, including copies of 911 calls, as it does routinely in news gathering, in part to examine the police response to the massacre that sent officers from multiple agencies racing to the school."

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas civil court records are not available to the public on-line once trials start out of the concern that jurors will access information they shouldn't know about, like settlements with other defendants, while sitting on cases, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The dockets are instead available at the judges' chambers. The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association told the Pittsburgh paper that other methods should be used to control juror misconduct.

After a hearing officer from Connecticut's Freedom of Information Commission recommended that 911 calls related to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting  in Newtown be released, a prosecutor has objected on the grounds, among others, that the commission does not have jurisdiction and that the recommendation would violate a new state law exempting many records of the shooting from the right-to-know arena. The media outlets seeking the information want to examine how law enforcement responded to the school shooting. The full commission will hear the case later this month.