AAN Association of Alternative Newsmedia

Alt-Weekly Reporter Scores Right-to-Know Victory

By AAN Staff

january 12, 2005 01:13 pm

Reporter Stephen James is the first Californian to win a court case granting access to government information under Proposition 59, the state's open-records initiative approved by voters in November 2004. Hoping to write an article about parolees for Sacramento News & Review, he asked the California Department of Corrections for the names and addresses of recently released inmates. The department refused his request, citing privacy concerns -- even though its Web site states that an inmate's name, age, birthplace and other background information can be released to the public. A Superior Court judge ruled that the department must turn over the requested information.

View full article at Sacramento News & Review