Wyoming School District Refuses to Hand Over Salary Information

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle filed a lawsuit against Laramie County School District 1 for not complying with the newspaper's request for the names of employees and their salaries. The assistant superintendent for LCSD1 said he would be breaking a state law if he provided the information sought, referring to a statute that requires legal advertising of school district salaries by category.

Laramie County School District 2 complied with an identical request.

For more information, click here.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Considers Deliberative Process Privilege for Governor

The Wyoming Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case to decide whether the governor enjoys a "deliberative process privilege," which he could use to shield documents from public view.

The case stems from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's request to see recommended budget cuts from two state agencies and the governor last spring.

Attorney General Bruce Salzburg argued that the privilege fosters frank discussions between agency employees and executives, which might be stifled if the public had access to them.

Open records law advocates disagree, saying if there is to be a deliberative process privilege, it should be the legislative branch that decides, not the judicial branch, and that the public has a right to know the deliberative process of its representatives.

Wyoming Coalition for Open Government Highlights Good and Bad Behavior

The Wyoming Coalition for Open Government handed out two awards to highlight good and bad behavior among state government officials.

The "First Amendment Hero" award went to Sweetwater County Attorney Brett Johnson for insisting that county commission meetings remain open when required by law.

The "Black Hole" award went to administrators of St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for withholding information about surgeries performed at the hospital.

For more about these award-winners, click here.

Wyoming City Council Meeting May Have Been Illegally Closed

Three Cheyenne, Wyoming council members say part of a January 11 closed executive session was an illegal violation of the state's open meetings law. But city attorney Dan White disagrees, saying the meeting was closed so that he could update the council on ongoing lawsuits and settlement negotiations. He claims the meeting was exempt from the open meetings law, relying on the litigation clause and the exemption "to consider or receive any information classified as confidential by law," including attorney-client privileged information.

At issue is whether the city attorney could meet with the governing body in a closed meeting to discuss potential litigation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has not yet addressed this issue.

For more, click here.

Wyo. open meetings/records woes

Shawn Whitman, chief of staff for Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, said closing a meeting was "an unfortunate misunderstanding on our part of the state statute," the AP reported. A Barrasso staffer told reporters that the meeting at a restaurant was private though it was being attended by a quorum of Fremont County commissioners.

Closing a meeting to the public between staffers for Sen. John Barrasso and Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis and a quorum of Fremont Count commissioners was a mistake. That’s was Barrasso’s chief of staff Shawn Whitman said Wednesday in response to an allegation by open-government advocates that the press was illegally barred from the gathering.

More here.

Update on Wind River Indian Reservation case:

Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan said he's bound by federal law to not release details on the deaths of three girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation, KVOW/KTAK reported. Wyoming Sen. Cale Case has said he's drafting legislation to make coroner records open, but McAuslan said that won't affect this case, which is governed by federal law. McAuslan said he will not violate laws and face a fine and/or jail time for releasing information.

Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan said he will not risk jail time by divulging information about a federal case involving the deaths of three girls last year on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Fremont County.

His comment comes on the heels of Republican Sen. Cale Case’s recent announcement he’s drafting state legislation that would specify all coroner records be open for public review unless privileged or confidential by law.

McAuslan said Case notified him this week by email of his intentions to draft the disclosure of information bill.

More here.

Wyo. senator proposes public review of coroner records

Wyoming Sen. Cale Case has drafted legislation that would make all coroner records open for public review unless they're privileged or confidential by law, the AP reported. This would call for state coroners to redact privileged or confidential information in files so that as much information as possible is disclosed. His legislation is in regards to the death of three teenage girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation. The FBI investigated the case, but the U.S. attorney's office in Cheyenne has refused to comment. The suspicion is that juveniles are facing criminal charges.

The federal government's refusal to say what killed three teenage girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation last year is driving a Wyoming state senator to try to force county coroners to open their records to the public.

Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, has drafted legislation that would specify that all coroner records would be open for public review unless they're privileged or confidential by law.

Case's proposal calls for directing the state's 23 elected coroners to redact privileged or confidential information in their files to allow the fullest possible disclosure.

More here.

Group requests information on Wy. deaths

The Wyoming Coalition for Open Government asked U.S. District Judge William Downes for information (at least the docket number) on the case involving the death of three Wyoming teenagers, AP reported. The FBI handled the investigation, and no details of the case, including the cause of death, have been released. At this point, it isn't for certain that a juvenile case related to the deaths exists, but comments made to reporters suggest that it does.

An open-government group has asked a federal judge to acknowledge the existence of a juvenile criminal case related to the deaths of three girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

The girls — Ohetica Win Elyxis Gardner, 13; Winter Rose Thomas, 14; and Alexandrea "Alex" Whiteplume, 15 — were found dead in a tribal housing complex south of Riverton on June 4, 2008. The FBI has handled the investigation into the girls' deaths.

The Wyoming Coalition for Open Government asked U.S. District Judge William Downes, chief federal judge for Wyoming, in a letter Monday to reveal at least the docket number in the case so the group could intervene in any proceedings.

More here.

Wyo. judge rules child endangerment cases can't be closed

Wyoming courts will no longer be able to automatically close child endangerment case files, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported. This ruling will not apply to information that could identify the victim but will "give the public more information about criminal charges in such cases."

A Wyoming court's policy of banning public access to child endangerment cases files violates the state public records law, a judge ruled Thursday, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.

District Judge Scott Skavdahl's ruling came in response to a December lawsuit filed by the Casper newspaper against Circuit Judge Michael Huber, after the newspaper reports it sought "the release of records in child endangerment cases that don't involve sex crimes." In Wyoming, the district court is higher than the circuit level.

According to the Star-Tribune, Skavdahl said "it was beyond his discretion to tell the circuit court exactly what policy it should have in regard to such records." But the newspaper's attorney, Bruce Moats, said the ruling will still give the public more information about criminal charges in such cases.

More here.

Wyo. bill calls for release of inmate info from county jails

As interpreted by attorneys, the current Wyoming law only allows the release of inmate information from the Department of Corrections, which operates state prisons. County sheriffs will be allowed to release booking photos and other inmate information in their position if the bill passes.

A proposed state law would allow sheriffs to release booking photographs and other basic information about inmates housed in county jails.

House Bill 72 has been endorsed by the House Judiciary Committee and is awaiting consideration by the full House of Representatives.

As interpreted by most county attorneys, Wyoming law allows only the Department of Corrections, which operates state prisons, to publicly release information on inmates.

More here.

Way to Go, Wyoming!!!!

Members of a newly formed government watchdog group say they're looking forward to pushing for release of public information around Wyoming.

The Wyoming Coalition for Open Government includes the Wyoming Press Association as well as many individual newspapers and other groups. The coalition held a press conference Thursday to introduce itself at the Wyoming state Capitol.

The group announced a "First Amendment Hero" award for Casper lawyer Michael Krampner. He was recognized for advising media on how to gain release of public information.

The group also announced a "Black Hole" award for Cheyenne's Building Department Board of Appeals. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle newspaper has sued the board claiming it violated public meeting laws when it allegedly deliberated behind closed doors about whether to allow demolition of 6 old houses in a city historic district.

More here. And here.