Another Example of the Code Of Silence - Sacramento Style!

Click on Rod's Picture, Read HIS memo, and ask yourself, "Is it time for Rod to step down as Secretary of YACA?"

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New open records act faces prison challenge

The Associated Press

(Updated Tuesday, November 23, 2004, 6:40 PM)

SACRAMENTO (AP) - An open records measure approved by voters this month will get an early test in a reporter's lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections.

Stephen James, who writes for the alternative weekly Sacramento News and Review newspaper, sued under Proposition 59 after the department denied his request for data about parolees.

The suit was filed last month in Alameda County Superior Court by attorney James Chadwick, who helped draft Proposition 59. A hearing is set for Dec. 15.

The suit alleges the department violated the California Public Records Act, which was strengthened when 83 percent of voters approved Proposition 59 on Nov. 2. The constitutional amendment requires judges to interpret state law broadly when it comes to granting access to government documents, and narrowly on efforts to withhold them.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who pledged more open government during his campaign last year, actively supported the amendment and said he would make public his appointments calendar shortly after the measure was approved by voters. James said he asked for the parolee data in February for an article about the department's parole program, its recidivism rate and related issues, but the department denied the request.

Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said she couldn't comment on pending litigation.

However, the department's formal response to the request in March cited privacy laws in refusing to turn over the names of 125 specific individuals and their records.

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On the Net:

Department of Corrections: www.corr.ca.gov

California First Amendment Coalition www.cfac.org