evince
Truthmatters
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/.../?hootPostID=7f787efc269d721568d2164754f1d9db
Mike Pence wants his communications limited from public access. Experts say this sets a "dangerous precedent."
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(Photo: IndyStar file photo)
Now that the presidential campaign and most of the furor over Hillary Clinton's email scandal are behind us, the Pence*administration*is going to court to argue for its own brand of email secrecy.
The administration is fighting*to conceal the contents of an email sent to Gov. Mike Pence*by a political ally. That email is being sought by a*prominent Democratic labor lawyer*who says he wants to expose waste in the Republican administration.
But legal experts fear the stakes may be much higher than mere politics*because the decision*could remove a judicial branch*check on executive power and*limit a citizen's right*to know what the government is doing and how it spends taxpayer dollars.
"It comes down to this —*the court is giving up its ability to check another branch of government, and that should worry people," said Gerry Lanosga, an Indiana University media professor specializing in public records law.
In the case, Indianapolis attorney William Groth is appealing a decision handed down by Marion Superior Court in April, which decided that redactions the administration made to a public record could not be second-guessed by the court.
The focal point in the*case is a political “white paper” that had been excluded from Groth’s public records request.
Pence’s legal defense team claims the white paper is*attorney work product protected by Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act —*and at the end of the day, matters of public records are not for a court to decide.
Groth argues the lower court misapplied the law.
“I think governmental transparency is an important concern of anyone who lives in a democracy – the governor cannot put himself above the law,” Groth told the IndyStar
Mike Pence wants his communications limited from public access. Experts say this sets a "dangerous precedent."
Buy Photo
(Photo: IndyStar file photo)
Now that the presidential campaign and most of the furor over Hillary Clinton's email scandal are behind us, the Pence*administration*is going to court to argue for its own brand of email secrecy.
The administration is fighting*to conceal the contents of an email sent to Gov. Mike Pence*by a political ally. That email is being sought by a*prominent Democratic labor lawyer*who says he wants to expose waste in the Republican administration.
But legal experts fear the stakes may be much higher than mere politics*because the decision*could remove a judicial branch*check on executive power and*limit a citizen's right*to know what the government is doing and how it spends taxpayer dollars.
"It comes down to this —*the court is giving up its ability to check another branch of government, and that should worry people," said Gerry Lanosga, an Indiana University media professor specializing in public records law.
In the case, Indianapolis attorney William Groth is appealing a decision handed down by Marion Superior Court in April, which decided that redactions the administration made to a public record could not be second-guessed by the court.
The focal point in the*case is a political “white paper” that had been excluded from Groth’s public records request.
Pence’s legal defense team claims the white paper is*attorney work product protected by Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act —*and at the end of the day, matters of public records are not for a court to decide.
Groth argues the lower court misapplied the law.
“I think governmental transparency is an important concern of anyone who lives in a democracy – the governor cannot put himself above the law,” Groth told the IndyStar