Friday, November 18, 2011
Law McDaniel yields on FOI request
Posted by Max Brantley on Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 6:17 AM
I see Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and Chris Heller, attorney for the Little Rock School District, have worked out a controversy fabricated by McDaniel over his office's request for documents from the district in the ongoing litigation over the state's failure to review desegregation implications in charter school approval.
McDaniel demagogued — successfully, judging by press coverage — the appearance that Little Rock was an enemy of free information. The district, however, was only attempting to get needed leniency from FOI time rules for an enormous information request. In case you care, here's a copy of the letter by which McDaniel requested information. It's a daunting list.
While this lawsuit, now dismissed, was pending, I made an FOI request for the identical information sought by McDaniel, as a citizen. Heller said the district would gladly supply it and it has been steadily arriving for me since then — gigantic document dumps. I didn't demand a three-day compliance window, as Heller feared McDaniel was attempting to enforce. Heller had told me the information would be thousands of pages from 50 sources, so extra time seemed reasonable.
Demagoguery done, McDaniel can now proceed with acting like an adult in court.
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Comments (5)
Showing 1-5 of 5
Adults rarely get elected to higher office - see the Republican contest for the Presidential nomination.
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Good for Dustin! I am a big supporter of public schools and I was a supporter of LRSD until I went to the town hall meeting hosted by Philander Smith College a couple of weeks ago in which Dr. Holmes participated. I went in a supporter of LRSD and came away dissapointed.
Dr. Holmes actually compared the KIPP schools and the success they were having in the delta to the "master teaching slaves to be good slaves." You should watch the video or get a transcript. The sooner the AG can take that money away from the LRSD the better. The only reason this is in litigation is because Chris Heller and John Walker need to keep making money off it. It is sad that our tax dollars are paying for Heller's home in Costa Rica and John Walker's extravagant lifestlye. This no longer has anything to do with the kids or education, this is about money.
I have had children in two public school systems including LRSD and one charter school. LRSD has been the worst experiance my far. Dr Holmes has to go and LRSD needs to start looking for answers not excuses.
No where in McDaniel's letter does it indicate he was insisting on the three-day limit for production. It is routinely waived when the request is burdensome. I think your biases are painfully evident in this one Max. For you to be criticizing a FOIA request as "daunting" is pretty ironic.
My opinion on what McDaniel wanted is also based on statements made in court, not solely the letter. I have not argued, nor has LRSD, that the size of the request should nullify it. Only that practical considerations should play a role in how a request is met. The record is that I asked for the records and they've been provided as they've been assembled, many of them within three days. What was McDaniel suing for if not strict compliance? It was empty bluster, as the resolution yesterday demonstrated.
Neither TIF McDaniel nor pseudoDemocrat Ross will get my vote for gov at any time. I hope Halter or someone else enters the race or there will be another under vote in my little precinct. And MarkieMarkie isn't a viable option either.
McDanniel-plays situations for the press
Ross-just needs to figure out whether he is actually in a 3rd party
Pryor-you can't ride on your dad's coattails forever. Grow a set and stand for something.
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