Forging a Career in Open Records Law: On Record PR
Florida Public Records Laws: Avoiding Pitfalls and Mistakes that Lead to Expensive and Costly Litigation
AGG Talks: Background Screening - Redaction of Identifiers by the Courts Update, Breaking News from California
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 296: Listen and Learn -- Hearsay Exceptions: Government and Business Records
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 132: Listen and Learn -- Hearsay Exceptions: Government and Business Records
[WEBINAR] Exploring the CPRA’s Investigatory Privilege
[WEBINAR] Update: Social Media Meets the First Amendment
[WEBINAR] Social Media Meets the First Amendment
[WEBINAR] Public Records Act - Taming the Email Tiger
[WEBINAR] The Public Records Act - Taming the Email Tiger
Can Virginia Block Non-Residents from FOIA Requests? Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments
On August 5, 2025, the Virginia Court of Appeals addressed the finality of court orders and the limits of appellate jurisdiction. While the decision was made in the context of a Virginia Freedom of Information Act (“VFOIA”)...more
City of Vallejo v. Superior Court (2025) 112 Cal.App.5th 565. A recent California appellate court decision has significant implications for the scope of SB 1421 (enacted in 2018), providing a broad reading to Penal Code §...more
Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law (“RTKL”) provides access to public records and promotes transparency in our Commonwealth. A record in the possession of a government agency is presumed to be public unless the record is...more
Today’s post will address the limited publicity of some of the CCF’s decisions....more
In the Advanced Records Center (ARC) section of the New Laws series from Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK), new legislation related to the California Public Records Act (PRA) includes takeaways and analyses of AB 134, AB 1147, AB...more
In the always-on, hyper-connected digital age, you'd think it would be relatively straightforward to produce records for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or open records requests, but it can be incredibly labor intensive,...more
House Bill 315, the township omnibus package, was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on January 2, 2025 and goes into effect on April 2, 2025. This bill permits law enforcement agencies to charge for the cost of...more
Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has long shielded the state’s highest levels of government, exempting the governor’s office and legislature from FOIA requests. The only other state with such an exemption is...more
MAKING THE WHOLE TRUTH PUBLIC: THE FIGHT TO RELEASE BODY-WORN CAMERA FOOTAGE IN SECTION 1983 LITIGATION - Body-worn cameras were heralded as a promising innovation in the fight against crime and police misconduct. But in...more
On June 5, 2024, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the first comprehensive reform to New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) since its passing in 2002. This amendment to the long standing legislation was met with much...more
Exploring the Visibility of Wills: Understanding Public Record in Estate Planning - Wills serve as vital documents outlining the distribution of finances, possessions, and property after an individual’s passing. It’s common...more
The principle of open government is foundational to a healthy democracy, and the availability of government records upon request from the public is one of its chief cornerstones. In the U.S., the primary mechanism by which...more
When you picture someone casing a house, a suspicious character in a white van parked down the street probably comes to mind. However, in today’s increasingly online world, bad guys can also enjoy the perks of working from...more
The ability to petition one’s leaders is long recognized regardless of the form of government. Ever since the Watergate Scandal, the United States has taken the lead on transparency in governmental acts and the interaction...more
In a win for open and transparent government in Missouri, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the Missouri Sunshine Law prohibits public governmental bodies from charging persons who request public records under the...more
In a decision applauded by citizens of the City of Chicago and its leadership, the Illinois Supreme Court found that a provision in the collective bargaining agreement between the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No....more
Municipalities in New York State should be ready to respond to an increased amount of Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) requests as a result of a bill just passed in both houses of the New York State Legislature and signed...more
The California Supreme Court recently issued an opinion that analyzes the public disclosure of police body camera footage and demonstrates the overlap between e-Discovery processes and other records production schemes. The...more
California Public Records Act Provision Permitting Public Agencies to Charge for “Extraction” Analyzed - Government agencies are prohibited from charging a fee to redact police body camera footage in response to a...more
“Openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy.” This straightforward declaration by the California Supreme Court bears repeating during the COVID-19 health crisis. “Newspapers, television, radio, and...more
BB&K's Christine Wood Gives Updates on AB 748 and SB 1421 in PublicCEO - Now, more than ever, Californians have greater access to police personnel records, body and dashboard camera footage and other recordings acquired by...more
Senate Bill 1421 affords the public access to police personnel records related to reports, investigations and findings, via the California Public Records Act process (not the familiar Pitchess process)....more
The City of Long Beach has hired Best Best & Krieger LLP Of Counsel Gary Schons to conduct an independent investigation into the Long Beach Police Department’s use of a controversial communications app. TigerText, which...more
The California public will have a greater right to access police body camera footage, and any other audio or video recording acquired by any police agency or state prosecution office, under the Public Records Act with the...more
Landmark ruling requires the European Commission to disclose impact assessments used as a basis for its legislative decision-making process. The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union recently issued a...more