There was an important hearing about differing interpretations of North Carolina’s Public Records Law yesterday. Here’s our story on it, for those who missed it.
Public records are incredibly important for a democratic (with a little D) society. Lots of people think newspapers and other media want special status in public records. We don’t. We want everybody to be able to get the records they think are important for helping them understand how government works.
In this case, our argument is with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office over 911 tapes created during two high-profile incidents. The 911 calls are raw and emotional. But our reason for wanting to examine wasn’t just about their visceral power. We’re also keenly interested in how law enforcement responded to these crises. These emergency communications give one clue.
The sheriff, the DA and the defense attorneys have their own reasons for not wanting to release these tapes, and their lawyers and ours made compelling oral arguments to the N.C. Court of Appeals yesterday. I’ll keep you apprised of the ruling.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from
Reporters, scientists and attorneys may have even more problems accessing what has been public records in the entire US. I just learned that one of the provisions buried in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 is a regulation that could prevent public access to birth and death certificates for 70 to 100 years.
A draft of the plan states that a database of vital records would be kept in Washinton and the provision tells all states must implement and pay before next year’s implementation.
Individuals will be able to still get family birth or death records, but public health research, reporters, and attorneys cannot access the information. This data will be added to the data required for the Real ID Act of 2005 scheduled to become law in 3 years.
I haven’t figured out exactly what this provision has to to with national security, but I’m sure the Bush Adm. has a ready answer, if anyone has the guts to ask. After all, we don’t want to be considered unpatriotic, do we?
Not only is it 1984, but we just lost another piece of our open democracy with transparent public records. Soon reporters will not only have to fight for information on 911, but all other information as well. Good luck to all of us, unless this regulation is changed.
I’m not familiar with this provision. Public access to records—not just for reporters—but for the public is a huge issue, often marked by a thousand little steps that eventually lead to a loss of oversight.
Unless there are many outcries from the public and state officials this will become federal law under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 which will interact with the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The EPIC and the real ID Cards would contain all information about us and be on the stripe--and that act was signed into law May 2005.
Some of the states are questioning whether the new regulations illegally tread on states’ rights. According to the draft, a state is not mandated to comply. However, if the state does not comply, then residents of that statee may not have access to any federal services, including social security and passport, i.e., medicare.gov., etc.
Check with Dole and Burr. They will (should) know how this may impact our state.
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