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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for P. Stephen DiJulio

What is an Agency's Obligation When a Records Request May Suggest Requester's "Commercial Purpose"?

What is an Agency's Obligation When a Records Request May Suggest Requester's "Commercial Purpose"?

A summary of the court's decision in SEIU Healthcare v. DSHS and Freedom Foundation and what that means for public records disclosure requests.

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Lack of “Serious Independent Analysis" of Exemptions Can Result in Finding of Bad Faith Under PRA

Lack of “Serious Independent Analysis" of Exemptions Can Result in Finding of Bad Faith Under PRA

In Adams v. Washington State Department of Corrections, the Court of Appeals held that for purposes of penalty calculation for agencies that do not comply with public records requests under RCW 42.56.565(1), an agency will be punished for “bad faith” if it fails to engage “in any serious independent analysis of the exempt status of documents.”

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Washington Court Holds Ballots Secret and Not Subject to Public Disclosure

Washington Court Holds Ballots Secret and Not Subject to Public Disclosure

The 2015 court decision White v. Skagit County and Island County concluded that ballots are exempt from disclosure due to the vital government function of holding secret ballot elections.

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When is a Committee Not a Committee under the OPMA?

The Washington Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), chapter 42.30 RCW, applies to a "governing body" as well as to a committee that "acts on behalf of" a governing body. The key definitions from the OPMA, at RCW 42.30.020, include as follows:

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Why the Government lawyer may not be the lawyer of the Council or Commission

This column focuses on the need for communication among government clients and their lawyers and summarizes the foundations for what is generally understood as the "entity" approach to legal representation of municipal  corporations.

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