Brechner News

Posted: November 5, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Access to Public Records is ‘Deteriorating Terribly’” published on route-fifty.com on Oct. 31. The article focuses on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recommendation to change Florida’s records law to exempt the governor’s travel records. Not only would the governor no longer be required to make details about his upcoming plans public, but even his past travels wouldn’t be available for scrutiny. According to Cuillier, the ability of people to get records that are supposed to be made publicly available has been “deteriorating terribly.”

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: David Cuillier, Florida, FOI, FOI exemption, FOIA, public records

Posted: October 17, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Closed-Door Sessions Endure at County, City Meetings” published on nogalesinternational.com on Oct. 13. The article focuses on a closed-door meeting by Arizona’s Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors involving a legal discussion between the county and South32, the company behind the Hermosa mine in the Patagonia Mountains. Cuillier encouraged government officials to practice transparency. “They should be as transparent as possible if they are going to maintain the trust of the electorate.” He indicated that open meeting law allows for public officers to discuss certain personnel matters…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: college sports, David Cuillier, FERPA, Frank LoMonte, name image likeness, NIL, open meetings, public records, Supreme Court

Posted: October 9, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the  Brechner Freedom of Information Project, and Janet Coats, managing director of UF’s Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, participated on panels for the virtual National Freedom of Information Coalition summit from Oct. 3-5. Cuillier participated in two sessions. The first, “School Shootings and Public Records,” focused on how journalists are fighting for public records related to school shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Nashville. In the second session, Cuillier led a panel presenting the latest freedom of information research from the annual National Freedom of Information Coalition FOI research competition. This year’s winner is former Brechner Center Director Frank…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: artificial intelligence, David Cuillier, FOI, FOIA, Frank LoMonte, Jane Bambauer, Journal of Civic Information, NFOIC

Posted: September 28, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “After a Decade, FOIAonline is Shutting Down. What’s Next for FOIA Requestors? ” published on muckrock.com on Sept. 26, 2023. For more than a decade, the Environmental Protection Agency hosted a portal for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests used by dozens of federal agencies. The site, FOIAonline.gov, has been the key hub many journalists, academics, activists and the general public use to request and access public records. But on Sept. 30, it will begin the process of shutting down. According to Cuillier, FOIA logs, or detailed spreadsheets…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Project, David Cuillier, EPA, FOIA, foia logs, open data

Posted: September 14, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “What Are They Hiding? State Agency Quotes High Fees to Bog Down Requests” published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sept. 8, 2023 The article focuses on public records requests made by the Las Vegas Review-Journal to find out more information on complaints received from people during the pandemic. Some were not receiving their unemployment insurance checks, were victims of fraudulent claims, or received unexpected overpayment notices from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. When the newspaper requested records to look into the problems this…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: David Cuillier, excess fees, FOIA, Nevada, open records laws, public records, state government

Posted: September 14, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is the author of “Cameras in the Court: Why Most Trump Trials Won’t Be Televised” published in The Conversation on Aug. 22. Cuillier writes about the unlikely television coverage of the upcoming court proceedings facing former President Donald Trump, with the exception of the case in Georgia. He mentions an Aug. 16 Quinnipiac University poll that 71% of Americans support television coverage of Trump’s trial related to his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, and a June 2023 poll that found 64% support televising the classified documents…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: cameras in court, classified documents, courts, David Cuillier, Supreme Court

Posted: April 17, 2023

ProPublica reporter Brett Murphy is the winner of the 2023 Brechner Center Freedom of Information Award for “Words of Conviction,” his investigation into the use of a technique used by police and prosecutors to treat people who called 911 for help as criminals themselves. On April 10, 2023, we sat down with Brett to discuss his investigation and the use of freedom of information requests. The video runs 4:21.   The Brechner Freedom of Information Award has been presented annually since 1986 by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Award, FOIA, ProPublica

Posted: April 4, 2023

ProPublica reporter Brett Murphy is the winner of the 2023 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for “Words of Conviction,” his investigation into the use of a technique used by police and prosecutors to treat people who called 911 for help as criminals themselves. Murphy first learned about “911 call analysis” when investigating a botched murder case in Louisiana. The technique was developed by a retired police chief, who touted it as a way to determine if 911 callers reporting a death were in fact guilty of the crime themselves. Most experts agree that 911 call analysis is junk science. But…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Award, ProPublica

Posted: March 16, 2023

Janet Coats, managing director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology (CTMT) at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, will speak about the College’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the Alachua County Library District’s Freedom of Information Day on March 16 at 5 p.m. in downtown Gainesville. Coats will discuss public policy and laws relating to free access of information. She will focus on the role of the Brechner Center and its commitment to advance understanding, appreciation, and support for freedom of information and to foster open government and a participatory democracy. Coats, who became the managing director of the…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner, Sunshine Week

Posted: March 16, 2023

David Cuillier, incoming director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will be speaking at the 2023 Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) Sunshine Week Symposium. The online webinar will be on March 16 at 1 p.m. Cuillier will be one of six panelists discussing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other transparency laws that have made a lasting impact on American political culture and the legal landscape. Participating panelists have written essays published during the week-long symposium focusing on how government transparency and FOIA have transformed society. Cuillier’s essay, Strengthening FOIA: Time for Teeth,” was…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: David Cuillier, FOIA, Sunshine Week

Posted: March 3, 2023

David Cuillier, incoming director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is the author of “Overclassification Overkill: The U.S. Government is Drowning in a Sea of Secrets” published in The Conversation on March 1. According to Cuillier, the U.S. has an overclassification problem which can threaten national security. “I have seen the secrecy creep – more classification and more withholding of information by the government – growing for decades, as a scholar who studies freedom of information,” said Cullier. “While classification is intended to protect the national security of the nation – such as weapons data,…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: classified, FOIA, secrecy, security

Posted: February 24, 2023

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications announced on Feb. 21 that David Cuillier has been named director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project. He will join the College on July 1, 2023. The Freedom of Information Project is part of a newly named Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment, which incorporates the current Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project.  A new director for the First Amendment Project will be named in the near future. The Freedom of Information Project is dedicated to protecting a robust,…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Dave Cuillier, David Cuillier