Funding, politics still barriers to enforcement of records laws
Funding, politics still barriers to enforcement of state records laws

By Bryan Dean Comments 0
Published: March 21, 2008

Violating the state's open records or open meeting laws is a misdemeanor, yet charges are rarely filed against public officials who break the law.

Whether it's a question of a lack of resources or a lack of political will, many experts agree legislators need to put more teeth in the law before it will be followed.

NewsOK Related Articles

Records should be open, available
03/21/2008 The reaction from citizens, judges, lawyers and the press to the new rule prohibiting view of court pleadings via the Internet has been as strident as any...
Stories made possible by open records laws
03/21/2008 0
Putting records online prompts disagreement
03/21/2008 Hundreds of thousands of Social Security numbers were recently removed from property records posted on the Oklahoma County Web site. County Clerk Carolynn...

Joey Senat, an OSU journalism professor and past president of Freedom of Information Oklahoma Inc., said leaving prosecution to district attorneys isn't working.

"I think very often it's that district attorneys don't want to embarrass their fellow elected officials,” Senat said. "It may also have to do with the power and the money that the people on those boards might have.”

Senat said district attorneys are put in a bind when local police are accused of violating the law, because they depend on a working relationship with law enforcement.

Resources are an issue

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, one of the few district attorneys in the state to file charges against a public official for violating openness laws, said there is a less sinister explanation for why more arrests aren't made.

"There is a problem in addressing the open meetings and Open Records Act that relates directly to resources in local district attorneys' offices,” Prater said. "Public safety first and foremost is our duty and we have to prioritize things in our office, and murders and rapes are our top priority.”

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said some district attorneys may be reluctant to file charges if they think someone didn't understand the law. If there's evidence of an intentional violation, charges likely would follow.

"I really believe that most public officials want to follow the law if they know what the law is,” Edmondson said. "A district attorney will often use a complaint as an educational opportunity rather than a litigation opportunity.”

Who should enforce it?

Senat and other openness advocates said other misdemeanors are treated more seriously. Ignorance of the speed limit will get you a ticket. Smoke marijuana in public, and you'll be arrested. Break the Open Meeting Act, and expect a slap on the wrist.

District attorneys and the attorney general are elected, meaning they could find themselves needing political support from those most likely to break the law, Senat said. He suggests using an independent commission to mediate openness disputes.

Prater said he would rather enforcement be left to the attorney general.

Edmondson said his office offers seminars to teach elected officials about openness laws.

"As it is when a clash comes, we often find ourselves in the position of representing the agency that has denied the record, because that's our duty, and not having anyone on the other side except the citizen who is wanting to get the information,” Edmondson said. "That's an unfair balance.”

Prater, Edmondson and Senat agree more attorney general funding is needed for enforcement to be a threat.