Comments on: Lansing City Council committee demands FOIA policy from city attorney

By: mznomer

mznomer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:25:47 +0000

Countless violations of Michigan's FOIA occur daily throughout the state regularly.

In an act, now 30+years old, which was passed post-Watergate, to insure the public's right to know the issues, policy & decisions of public bodies, the law is woefully ineffective because prosecution of alleged violations are dependent upon finding an attorney who will sue the local power establishment & the elite who have elected them.

I call for Michigan citizens to act on their own behalf, as guaranteed in the most recent Michigan Constitution, in Circuit Court by the Attorney General providing the “pro forma” information And blanks documents to address the multitude to scofflaw units of government, aka “our elected officials.”

By: mznomer

mznomer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:25:47 +0000

Countless violations of Michigan's FOIA occur daily throughout the state regularly.

By: WayneWrites

WayneWrites — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:06:41 +0000

The key phrase in Michigan's FOI law is “unwarranted invasion of privacy.” If you end up somehow involved in a public event – including a crime or allegations of a crime, whether as the accused or a witness – you no longer have the same expectations of privacy. It's no longer “unwarranted” to have your information in a public document. Could it be uncomfortable for you? Sure. But that's the price of making sure we have an accountable government that provides information about its operations to the public.

I'd rather have a government entity that errs on the side of disclosing information in public documents than has a routine practice of hiding information.

If the city was releasing actual medical records, I'd feel differently about these cases. But these are police reports. Police reports are public documents, and it's important that they remain so.