Brechner Freedom of Information Project

A coalition of 40 California newsrooms has published a study examining the challenges of large-scale public records requests. The California Reporting Project developed a tool, RequestAtlas, to manage unstructured data obtained through public record requests related to police use of force and misconduct.  The study found that early attempts to…

A Fulton County Superior Court judge in Georgia has ruled that the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) must release 15 unredacted public records related to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, known as “Cop City,” within 30 days. The records include board meeting agendas, budget documents, and emails with Georgia Attorney…

A May study titled “Lessons from the Dissolution of Mexico’s Information Commission” examines the March closure of Mexico’s national transparency commission. Researchers Gregory Michener, Margaret Kwoka, and others analyzed the shutdown and identified lack of public engagement as a key factor.  The commission, once regarded as a global model for…

Access to public records continues to vary widely by state, with Alabama ranking last in compliance, according to a recent analysis. While neighboring Florida responded promptly to a reporter’s request regarding a swatting incident at a U.S. senator’s beach house, Alabama agencies delayed or denied similar requests related to a…

A new article in the Seattle University Law Review by former Brechner FOI Project Director Frank LoMonte looks at what is described as a “hole in the heart” of federal and state freedom-of-information laws: The absence of legal requirements to actually retain high-value records – or any meaningful penalty for failing to do so. In…

Newly released documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was aware of serious health risks following the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment and controlled burn in East Palestine, Ohio.  According to a lawsuit by the Government Accountability Project against FEMA and…

A new analysis in the Washington University Law Review finds that state address confidentiality programs (ACPs) meant to protect domestic violence survivors are often ineffective—and in some states, nonexistent. Author Haley Bills highlights that at least six states lack ACPs entirely, while others have inconsistent standards that leave many survivors…

For nearly 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an annual report tracking the country’s greenhouse gas emissions—until this year. In a report from CBS News, the agency failed to publish its 2025 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report, prompting the Environmental Defense Fund to file a Freedom of…

As public records requests continue to rise, a new paper in AI & Society argues that artificial intelligence could play a key role in helping government agencies manage the growing demand.  Jason R. Baron, a professor at the University of Maryland and member of the National Archivist’s FOIA Advisory Committee,…

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has filed a lawsuit against Flint Community Schools for failing to comply with Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. The legal complaint comes after the school district ignored a Feb. 17 records request for more than 50 business days—well past the legal deadline.  The request…

An experiment published in Government Information Quarterly found that public record requesters who remind record custodians of the public records law are more likely to get the records they seek, particularly when asking for large amounts of data. The researchers emailed record requests to 800 randomly selected cities in Slovakia,…

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register to block the release of certain government emails, citing a claim of “executive privilege” that her office says protects candid internal communications. According to a report from the Des Moines Register, the lawsuit, filed April 25 in…