Topic
Public Access
83 published works
Municipal Minute
PAC Issues 7th Binding Opinion on OMA Complaint
In PAC Op. 24-007, the Public Access Counselor of the Attorney General's Office (PAC) reviewed and considered a complaint that a public body violated the OMA. Specifically, the complainant alleged…
Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog
National Archives and Ancestry team up to digitize millions of records
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has partnered with Ancestry to digitize tens of millions of historical records, significantly expanding public access to these documents. This agreement, described as…
UK Human Rights Blog
Dartmoor and the Right to Wild Camp: Whigs and Hunters for the 21st Century?
Wild Camping on Dartmoor Photo: John Ryan/Alamy originally published in the Guardian 13 January 2023. “The principal issue in this case is whether section 10(1) of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 (“the 1985…
The Right Coast
An environmental group wants to make Harvard allow public access to its boathouse docks. The university is pushing back. – The Boston Globe
For more than a century, Harvard has enjoyed a valuable perk along the banks of the Charles River: full private access to the waterfront at its two historic boathouses, where…
Canadian Lawyer Mag
The Depp/Heard trial provides the perfect argument against broadcasting court proceedings
There are better ways to educate the public than exploitation
Municipal Minute
City Council’s Remote Meeting in Violation of Open Meetings Act
The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued two new binding opinions recently, one dealing with remote meetings under OMA and one dealing with FOIA. We are reporting on…
Municipal Minute
PAC Issues 8th Binding Opinion of 2021
A regular reader sent us a copy of the most recent PAC binding opinion - as many of you know, the Attorney General's website is still not fully operational so…
California Land Use & Development Law Report
Appellate Courts to Malibu Homeowners: “Defy the Coastal Commission at Your Peril”
Three months ago, the Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a Coastal Commission fine of $1 million on homeowners who performed major reconstruction on their Malibu home without obtaining coastal…
Municipal Minute
PAC Finds No Violation of OMA In Declining Public’s Request to Place Item on Agenda
As we have noted previously on Municipal Minute, some of the more interesting opinions out of the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor (PAC) office are advisory/non-binding opinions. Today, we report…
California Land Use & Development Law Report
County May Abandon Public Easement Rights to Prevent Unauthorized Use of Road
The Third Appellate District determined that Placer County met relevant statutory requirements when it partially abandoned public easement rights in a road originally intended to be used only for emergency…