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The names of car owners ticketed by automated speed cameras are not a public record, a divided Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The court was considering a lawsuit filed by a former Ottumwa police sergeant who was ticketed while driving a city-owned car in May 2016 by the city’s speed camera. Mark Milligan filed an open records request after he was given the ticket as the driver. Typically, such citations go to the vehicle’s owner. Milligan wanted to see the names of car owners caught on camera and ticketed and those caught speeding by the automated camera but not given a ticket. Many cities do not enforce the automated fines against public officials driving government vehicles. The city denied his request, arguing that the names of people ticketed are confidential under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act passed in 1994 and a similar state law designed to protect personal records maintained by state transportation officials.
The Gazette
Newspaper stories, lawsuits, real estate deals and genealogy searches often begin the same way: with a public records request. In Maryland, after complaints about the accessibility of supposedly accessible documents, officials tasked with handling disagreements over such requests are recommending a change. State officials concluded in a recent report the state’s public records laws should be altered so agencies that improperly withhold records can be forced to release them before citizens initiate costly court fights. “Experience teaches that all too often, extraneous considerations such as political sensitivity, controversy, [and] fear of public criticism … will dictate many PIA outcomes, making problems such as unlawful delay, wrongful denials, and refusal to compromise,” according to the 54-page report. The report recommended the ombudsman, who can only mediate disputes, and the review board, which can only issue decisions in cases involving records processing fees of more than $350, be given more resources and the authority to issue binding decisions on PIA disputes.
The Washington Post
A newspaper’s review of Maryland court records has found an apparent loophole that allows documents filed electronically to be kept from the public. The Capital reported Sunday that court documents filed through the state’s electronic record-keeping system can be made secret by attorneys, judges and clerks and their staffers without a court order or public notice. In contrast, attorneys who want a record kept secret must obtain an order from a judge when filing by paper. That process requires notice and an opportunity for any interested party to intervene. The newspaper reported it’s unclear how many records have been so easily sealed across the state.
The Washington Post
More than a year after his death, a cache of computer files saved on the hard drives of Thomas Hofeller, a prominent Republican redistricting strategist, is becoming public. Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina fought in court to keep copies of these maps, spreadsheets and other documents from entering the public record. But some files have already come to light in recent months through court filings and news reports.
NPR
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 “Experience teaches that all too often, extraneous considerations such as political sensitivity, controversy, [and] fear of public criticism … will dictate many Public Information Act outcomes.”
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