Switch to the mobile version of this page.

Arkansas Times

Arkansas Blog

« Fatal wreck at Cantrell and Reservo… | Why does Little Rock hate pedestria… »

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Law What is a meeting under FOI law?

Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 12:34 PM

Sebastian County Circuit Judge James Cox delivered a disappointing decision for open government advocates yesterday. He ruled against a Freedom of Information act lawsuit over a series of one-on-one meetings the Fort Smith city administrator had with members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors about a policy to allow the administrator to hire and fire department heads.

Cox said the Arkansas Supreme Court had not left clear enough guidance in another suit, also from Fort Smith, that held one-on-one meetings could constructively be considered meetings and thus open to the public. He said there are open questions about what third party can contact a governing board one-on-one and what the distinctions are between polling on a decision and strictly informational contact. He said the legislature, not the courts, should define what the law means by "meetings." He mentioned specifically e-mail, which, increasingly, has become a way by which public boards have hashed out future decisions in private.

Cox also struck down as unconstitutional criminal penalties for FOI law violations. There are "less restrictive" means to advance the cause of open government, he ruled.

The case presumably will be appealed. The outcome could reshape thinking on the FOI.

Tags: Judge James Cox, Fort Smith Board of Directors, Freedom of Information Act

        
Tweet
Share

Comments (5)

Showing 1-5 of 5

Add a comment

Subscribe to this thread:

By Email

With RSS

Showing 1-5 of 5

More by Max Brantley

Gay discrimination endorsed in House committee

I've mentioned previously the curious absence of gay bashing by the new Republican legislative majority.
- by Max Brantley
- Mar 22, 2013
Morning report: Won't you go home Arkansas legislature?

The Friday morning warmup: * THE RUSH TO ADJOURN: "Deliberative" is not a word that applies to the death rattle of the Arkansas legislature — not when the Senate rushes out, with virtually no debate, $150 million or so in tax cuts on everything from baling wire purchases to multi-million-dollar windfalls on unearned income for corporate capitalists.
- by Max Brantley
- Apr 19, 2013
More »