Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/public-records-lawsuit/)
The policy change comes after a judge found the county failed to cite a valid legal justification to destroy records before two years. ACLU lawyers say the new policy goes against the court ruling, while county officials say it’s entirely legal.
A new policy, up for approval Tuesday, comes on the heels of a court ruling and order this summer tossing out the county’s previous reason for destroying records before two years.
OC officials may have found a way to continue to immediately destroy many public records of their government communications, despite a court ruling that it’s probably illegal to do so.
ACLU lawyers say the county has a host of illegal and unconstitutional policies and practices that stifle public information and debate. A judge now will decide if officials are breaking the law and whether to block their policies.
San Clemente claimed the Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA), which manages toll roads in Orange County, illegally withheld public records, including payments totaling millions of dollars to lobbyists and public relation firms.
Last month, hours before city hall closed for the holidays on Dec. 22, the city of Westminster released an explosive complaint written by its former police chief, Kevin Baker.
Former police chief Kevin Baker, in a legal claim against the city obtained by Voice of OC through a public records lawsuit, compares corruption in Westminster to the city of Bell.
The city of Westminster must make public a legal claim against the city filed by former Police Chief Kevin Baker, according to a ruling issued late Wednesday afternoon by Judge Walter Schwarm, in response to a Voice of OC lawsuit.
Publisher Norberto Santana Jr. writes that Orange County supervisors should reimburse local taxpayers for the more than $120,000 in legal fees they just had to pay Voice of OC after losing a public records lawsuit. It likely won’t be the last time the courts are needed to pry public records loose and Santana says Voice of OC will stay on the case.
County Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s emails and Op-ed about handcuffing an evangelist while armed at a Wahoo’s on Good Friday 2015, are released as a result of a successful Voice of OC public records lawsuit.