THE NEFAC REPORT | May 2015
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NEFAC Executive Director Testifies in Support of Mass. Public Records Bills
Coalition President Discusses Need for Law Reform,
Ability of Citizens to Access Government Information
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The New England First Amendment Coalition recently testified in support of legislation that would improve access to public records in Massachusetts. Justin Silverman, NEFAC's executive director, spoke to a state legislative committee on behalf of the coalition, describing a lack of access to records and a strong need for reform.
| NEFAC President Tom Fiedler Discusses Mass. Public Records Law on WGBH's Beat the Press (begins at 00:15:18) |
"The ability to gather news and inform communities, to understand government and engage with elected leaders, is essential to the democratic process," Silverman said. "Yet in my role as executive director I regularly speak with journalists and community members from throughout the state who are frustrated at the inability to obtain information about their government, information that is public by law but in reality is unobtainable and essentially secret." [More]
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Citizens Need More Information, Not Less
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Last year, the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned some 20 years of Freedom of Information law when it concluded that police departments need only disclose a bare minimum of arrest information (name, address, date, time and charges) pending prosecution. This ruling applies even if other arrest information is not exempt from public disclosure. The Supreme Court majority itself, however, recognized that its tortured reading of the law is in need of legislative clarification. [More]
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New Mass. E-Filing, Court Record Policies Require More Oversight, Press Access
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The New England First Amendment Coalition recently called for more public participation in discussions about how to access Massachusetts court documents using new technology. In letters written on behalf of the coalition, NEFAC requested, among other things, more oversight of the electronic filing rule-making process, and increased access to masscourts.org, an online repository of court records. [More]
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OTHER FOI AND FIRST AMENDMENT NEWS
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