When journalists at The Frontier, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit news outlet, investigated the suspicious 2019 loss of life of an inmate on the Pottawatomie County jail, surveillance video from inside the power appeared to be one of the best ways to find out what occurred.
But when the outlet requested the video footage by the state’s Open Records Act, the jail refused to conform.
“We felt like this case was worth the fight, but it’s hard to do it on your own,” mentioned Dylan Goforth, govt editor of The Frontier.
The prospect of a pricey authorized battle for public records is usually a deterrent for a lot of journalists and news retailers, particularly throughout an period of newsroom price range cuts and extra defiant authorities companies.
But in 2020, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press employed a Tulsa-based lawyer to supply free authorized help for Oklahoma journalists and news retailers.
Kathryn Gardner, the RCFP’s attorney, represented The Frontier in a lawsuit towards the Pottawatomie County jail. This month, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals upheld a ruling that the jail video footage was public and must be given to The Frontier.
“This (program) is such a valuable tool because Oklahoma has a decent open records law and oftentimes you know an agency is in the wrong when they deny a request, but you just need someone to fight it,” Goforth mentioned.
Over the final two years, Gardner has assisted in 11 lawsuits in search of public records. She additionally has consulted journalists earlier than publishing delicate information and issued dozens of letters reminding authorities officers of their obligation in responding to records requests.
“While (the Open Records Act) law is quite robust, your only mechanism for true enforcement is filing a lawsuit and that is quite a hurdle for a journalist or a news organization,” Gardner mentioned. “I’ve heard from so many journalists that it brings them a lot of comfort to have an easily accessible attorney who can support their work.”
‘Everyone has the precise to it’
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed greater than 30 lawsuits throughout the nation in 2022, according to its annual report.
In Oklahoma, the RCFP assisted Oklahoma Watch in submitting a lawsuit towards the Office of Management and Enterprise Services after the company refused to show over functions for federal pandemic reduction funds. The company ultimately launched the records, which showed billions in requests from government and private entities.
The RCFP additionally assisted a tribal news group in accessing records from the Osage Nation Treasury Department and is concerned in an ongoing lawsuit towards the governor and attorney normal over emails associated to the U.S. Supreme Court’s determination on McGirt.
More:Journalist sues Oklahoma governor, attorney normal over records request delays
Oklahoma Watch, represented by Gardner, lately introduced a lawsuit towards the town of Tulsa after it refused to supply records associated to the arrest of a 70-year-old woman that drew public outrage.
“While this kind of information is really important for my job, my day-to-day reporting, … everyone has the right to it,” mentioned Whitney Bryen, the Oklahoma Watch journalist named on the lawsuit, discussing the matter on a recent podcast. “The Tulsa Police Department is funded by taxpayer money, which means you the public are paying for these services, and you have a right to this information about what kind of work is being done and how this work is happening.”
Gardner’s work in Oklahoma was a part of an preliminary two-year dedication from RCFP, which lately was prolonged for one more yr.
Over the previous two years, greater than 150 folks in Oklahoma even have utilized RCFP’s authorized hotline, Gardner mentioned.
Legal help is preventing a ‘tradition of noncompliance’
While there are some exceptions, most paperwork, movies and different supplies produced by a authorities company are required to be accessible to the general public by the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
There is no set time interval through which records should be returned, which implies authorized motion is usually the one plan of action to take when there are delays or rejections.
“It seems government agencies and public officials are less likely to fulfill open record requests in a timely fashion these days,” mentioned Kurt Gwartney, govt director of Freedom of Information Oklahoma. “The stalling technique seems to kind of be the standard approach in some government offices. They just keep putting stuff off until even when the records are released they are less relevant.”
More:Governor’s appointees file first monetary disclosure kinds
Each yr, Freedom of Information Oklahoma points awards to companies and people for his or her work in selling authorities transparency. They additionally problem an annual Black Hole award to an company or particular person who has most thwarted the free circulation of information.
Recent “winners” of the Black Hole award embrace the Univerity of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Epic Charter colleges.
This week, the group named Gov. Kevin Stitt a Black Hole winner for vetoing a invoice that required his Cabinet members to file monetary disclosure kinds. It additionally gave the award to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority after a Cleveland County choose mentioned it had violated the state’s Open Meeting Act.
More:Judge guidelines Oklahoma Turnpike Authority ‘willfully’ violated open conferences regulation
Gardner mentioned drawing consideration to dangerous actors in terms of open records, whether or not by lawsuits or Black Hole awards, can fight the state’s “culture of noncompliance.”
“I certainly think it makes a difference for folks to know there is somebody who will hold them accountable,” Gardner mentioned.
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