1993 – the year history professor Monte Finklestein submitted his Freedom of Information Act request for Allied troop movements during World War II. Nineteen years later, Finklestein received his records, thus fulfilling the fourth oldest FOIA request. 

 

In the 1960s, nationwide access to information on a federal scale became possible with the FOIA. Soon to follow in 1968, the Colorado Open Records Act and the Colorado Open Meetings Law in 1972. The Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act would come after in 1977. 

 

“The public really can’t hold those in power accountable without knowing what they are doing in the public’s name,” wrote Journalism Media Communication Assistant Professor David Wolfgang in an email. “This is what makes the public’s right to know so important. How can we fully exercise rights like our right to speak, right to assemble and right to petition without being aware of what the government is doing?” 

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PAVING THE WAY FOR ACCESS

 

On July 4, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act into effect,

changing the way the public is able to access information in the United States.

 

“I signed this measure with a deep sense of pride that the United States is an open society in which the

 people's right to know is cherished and guarded,” said Johnson, ending his signing statement.  

 

FOIA allows the public to request access to records from any federal agency, helping the government

remain transparent. All 50 states have a law in place to allow citizens to request information.  

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“It’s really important that people be able to know what their government is doing and as a journalist that’s a

really important tool of the trade,” said Executive Director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition Jeff Roberts. “If you’re going to be a journalist, you have to know something about how to use these laws. It really helps you get better and more precise stories rather than just talking to people who aren’t required to talk to you.”

 

In the wake of the Watergate Scandal in 1974, several new amendments were added to FOIA including new requirements, timeframes, sanctions for wrongly withheld information and necessary language waiving fees. 

 

Since this time, FOIA has undergone many changes during the presidential administrations of Ford, Reagan, Clinton, Bush and Obama. 

 

The most recent change was passed during the Obama administration in 2016. The FOIA Improvement Act encouraged presumption of openness. Agencies would only be able to withhold a record when the agency reasonably foresaw “that disclosure would harm an interest protected by a [FOIA] exemption,” according to the FOIA Improvement Act. 

 

“Many people believe that the right to access information should exist in the First Amendment,” Wolfgang wrote, “but the Supreme Court has been unconvinced by that argument. Instead, we now have federal and state laws to protect that right.”

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RIGHTS FOR THE CENTENNIAL STATE

 

In Colorado, the Colorado Open Records Act stands as a state public records law

alongside the Criminal Justice Records Act. Each provides distinct rights for the public to

access records. 

 

CORA covers all records of state and local government entities. Law enforcement criminal

justice records are covered by the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act.

 

“There’s no reason why the public shouldn’t know what’s going on,” said Fort Collins Police

Chief Jeff Swoboda, “but when it gets into people's individual [privacy] or their right to

have a trial and not have a tainted jury pool, that’s when the questions come in.”

 

The release of police records are on a case by case basis. There are a lot of factors to

consider, it isn’t just black and white, said Swoboda. 

 

“What we’re trying to do is keep people informed and at the same time what we are

struggling with in law enforcement is the idea of people’s privacy,” Swoboda said.

“We’re always dealing with officers themselves and ongoing cases. What should

be protected, but what should be released so that the community can know?

Those are always kind of judgement calls in some ways.”

 

Unlike FOIA and CCJRA requests, CORA has a time limit that the agency

has to abide by to get the records to the requester. The agency has three days before

they have to ask the requester for an extension. 

“When you hear about years, you’re usually hearing about FOIA cases,” Roberts said.

“You hear horror stories sometimes [about waiting] months or years to get records.

That really shouldn’t be the case with CORA.”

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THE EXCEPTION

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Unlike police reports, 911 calls and other records, autopsy reports fall under CORA.

 

“If a coroner doesn’t want to publicly disclose an autopsy report in response to a request,”

said Roberts, “they have to go to court and try to get an order saying that disclosure of this

autopsy report would cause substantial injury to the public interest.”

 

In 1974, the case of Denver Pub. Co. v. Dreyfus affirmed that autopsy reports are not

classified under investigatory files except for CORA. 

 

Substantial injury to the public interest is a difficult thing to prove. For coroners to protest

the report's release, they must go to court and have it sealed. Denial is not enough.

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SHINING LIGHT IN DARK PLACES

 

First passed in 1972, the Colorado Open Meetings Law allows citizens to attend

meetings held by state and local public bodies.

 

Commonly referred to as the Sunshine Law, this legislation helps shine the light into

otherwise dark places where government and other meetings would take place in

private.

 

“It is declared to be a matter of statewide concern and the policy of this state that

information of the public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret,”

according to the law’s first paragraph. 

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HELPING WITH TRANSPARENCY 

 

Government agencies are funded by the public, held accountable by the public and

work on the public’s behalf, Roberts said. Through accessing records, such as

government officials’ emails, the public is able to see how the government is operating.  

 

“It enables journalists and the public to get an idea of how their government is

functioning, and it helps them decide if they want to change the government, vote

somebody out who might be in charge of the way things are operating,” Roberts said.

“It’s really about having an informed public and an informed electorate.” 

 

There are situations where police cannot release records because it could compromise an

investigation or tip off potential suspects. Additionally, releasing sensitive information may

taint a potential jury pool and invade a private citizen’s privacy. However, law enforcement

agencies still try to release information as fast as they can with minimal damage,

Swoboda said.  

 

“The government has a treasure trove of valuable information that could help explain

public life to citizens, but is notoriously bad at communicating with their public,” Wolfgang

wrote. “Who is better situated than journalists to take that information (both good and bad) and give it to the public so that they can make their own decisions about the effectiveness of government and, hopefully, hold their government officials accountable?”

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