Editor's Note

The FOI Advocate is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The blog relies on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. We will correct errors and inaccuracies when we become aware of them.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Attorney-client privilege wins records case

The Ohio Supreme Court agreed with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, which argued that investigative reports prepared for public agencies by private lawyers are not public record, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
In a setback for advocates of public records, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled today that reports by private attorneys for government agencies are not public records.

The court's unanimous ruling came in a sordid case out of Toledo. That city's newspaper, The Blade, filed a public-records request for an investigative report by a private attorney for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority that looked into an extramarital relationship between the president of the port authority and a lobbyist who did business with the authority.

The authority's private lawyer prepared a report investigating the matter and turned it over to the authority's board, which fired the wayward official.

More here.

Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)