MSU Newspaper Prevails in Open Records Contest Vs. University

The State News, Michigan State University’s student newspaper, has prevailed after working diligently on an open records case concerning a 2006 campus assault. The case involved one student and two nonstudents charged in connection with pointing a gun at three people and pouring gasoline on one of them.
The original FOIA request goes back to March 2, 2006 as part of what should have been routine reporting of a pretty serious crime, a crime that other students should have been privy to every detail (especially considering the cost of tuition).
This week Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk “ruled MSU must release the incident reports, which occurred on Feb. 24, 2006, as well as police officer names and suspect mug shots that were previously withheld,” according to the State News.
Draganchuk originally had ruled with the university, but was reversed on appeal by the Michigan Supreme Court.
The judge clearly came down against open records the first time, and she is a heavily lobbied establishment judge who was bound to side with the state. Further, an appellate court panel identified several errors committed by the circuit court, as noted in the Michigan Supreme Court's opinion. (posted below)
MSU appealed to the state Supreme Court, and so on.
The case has taken up plenty of taxpayer money and time. Now, over three years, later, the press appears to have prevailed. Perhaps small change in the overall scheme of things. But something to remember next election.

State News image by Flickr user CedarBendDrive CC 2.0
Mi Supreme Court Ruling in State News v. MSU

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Mark Brewer, AG FOIA Flap Documents - Part 2- AG Response

This is the AG's response. He has some good points - On Page Two, Cox notes that "the department recognizes that the purpose of FOIA is to promote access to government records in the most efficient and economical way possible." And he makes the point that Brewer's request has political connotations, quoting a section of the FOIA law states that fees "...shall be uniform and not dependent on the identity of the requesting person."
The next step on this case could be a courtroom. How much is too much? We can't wait.

Mark Brewer, AG FOIA Flap Documents - Part 1 - His Request

The man who has bedeviled state Republicans for years, Mark Brewer, is attempting to shine a light on State Attorney General Mike Cox. And Cox wants to charge him $143,000 for his trouble.
He’s accusing Cox of overcharging for an open records request related to a multi-million dollar settlement with Countrywide Financial Group. The money was in theory earmarked to help people who are hitting the financial skids keep their homes. But Cox also sent $500,000 of the cash to Grand Rapids to help with the cost of a couple of local parks/projects. One payment was $250,000 to the city. Another a donation for a park.
Many folks believe this is a case of political payback, some fiscal help to a friend or two in GR.
The $250,000 gift from the settlement for Kent County's Millennium Park is a obviously open to question. Peter Secchia is head of fundraising for the park, and Secchia donated nearly $10,000 to Cox campaigns in 2002 and 2005. This is, of course, political business as usual. But that doesn't make it immune from analysis. And it sure does a good job of helping voters make an informed choice.
Brewer filed a FOIA over the issue seeking records for “each federal or state lawsuit, complaint, of civil, criminal or administrative legal proceeding…involving corporate, commercial or business defendants brought, joined or participated in by the Attorney General and resolved by any means…”
Brewer seeks some simple things, including docket numbers, parties and venues. But he also asks for disposition of proceeds, all communications, including email text and phone records from the AG and his staff pertaining to the cases. It is a well-written, comprehensive request.
Cox fired back with a bill for $143,000 to comply. But he also says “Please be informed that nearly 8,000 pages of settlement documents currently are available on the Department’s website: www.michigan.gov/settlementcenter and the department continues to add to this site. The Department believes, based on your most recent media statements, that the settlements you are most interested in may be available on the Department’s website at no cost.”
Of course if they are available there at no cost, it would seem that the $143,000 in charges might be whittled down a bit.
This is often where open records hit a wall. When a body does not want to give them up, it simply trumps up the charges for processing those records, which usually discourages the filer and keeps the records sealed. It has happened to us before with this state.
We obtained copies of the FOIA and ensuing correspondence between Brewer and Cox’s office. We are posting it all here in two parts in an experimental fashion – you now have the tools to decide who is right and who is wrong, if there is such a thing here.
We also emailed John Sellek at the AG’s office last night asking for a copy of Brewer’s FOIA. After all, he is said to have claimed that “…Brewer is seeking to exploit the issue by filing a request so broad it would require the searching of thousands of boxes of documents dating back six years.”
We have yet to hear back from Sellek.

Michigan School Sued by Liberal Group over FOIA Case

While free enterprise is almost always at odds with organized labor, the litigation filed by Change to Win, against Ferris State University is, in its barest form, certainly on the mark. The refusal of Ferris to divulge this contract, which is it obligated to do under law, is unconscionable regardless of how distasteful Change to Win is in its other endeavors.
From a release: “CVS Caremark’s lack of transparency is driving up prescription drug costs for consumers and health plans alike,” said Chris Chafe, executive director of Change to Win. “Michigan law protects the people’s right to know, in this case, what CVS Caremark is charging the university for prescription drug benefits, but also what compensation CVS Caremark may be receiving in the form of undisclosed agreements with drug manufacturers and pharmacies at taxpayers’ expense.”
We’re troubled here by CVS Caremark’s history of secrecy. The University of Michigan in 2005 ended its dealings with Caremark over a lack of transparency on pricing issues. Other municipalities have done the same.
We understand that some discretion is needed to ensure a competitive advantage. But that advantage is not at issue when a private company decides to play in the public arena, and this goes for anyone, be it a concessionaire, an airline or a health care provider. If they would prefer to have their information kept private, then don’t do business with the public sector.
The complaint:
Change to Win FOIA Complaint

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One more tidbit related to this case: Margaret Kwoka is an attorney for Public Citizen representing Change to Win on this case. She is also the lawyer who is taking on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to gain access to a report showing the dangers of cell phone use by drivers.