Access to Public Records and Meetings in Arizona

21st Century Right to Know Meeting

Tempe, Ariz., April 26, 2008

The following handouts cover tips for planning your public records request, writing a public records request letter, handling denials and using people skills in increase the chance you’ll get the documents without having to go to court.These training materials were developed by Charles Davis of the University of Missouri at Columbia, Joel Campbell at Brigham Young University and David Cuillier at the University of Arizona for the Society of Professional Journalists newsroom training program. If you have questions about accessing records, feel free to contact the SPJ FOI Committee chair:

David Cuillier

SPJ FOI Committee Chair

Assistant Professor

Department of Journalism

University of Arizona

(w) 520-626-9694

(h) 520-229-1466

Contents:

  1. Access for everyday life
  2. Planning your FOI request
  3. Sample FOI request letter 1: Informal
  4. Sample FOI request letter 2: Neutral
  5. Sample FOI request letter 3: Threatening
  6. How to handle denials
  7. Art of access: How to deal with people
  8. Doing FOI while feeding the daily monster
  9. Where to get FOI ideas and inspiration
  10. Resources
  11. The Record Album (examples of public records and where to get them)

Access for Everyday Life

Practical uses of public records for citizens

Public records have practical value in everyday life. Below are examples of how people use public records to help themselves and their communities.

  • Home values. Property tax records are public at county courthouses. You can find out how much homes in your neighborhood are worth, what they sold for, along with details, such as the homes’ square footage and number of bedrooms. This helps you in buying or selling a home to compare homes and values.
  • Criminal records. A person’s criminal record is public information. If you want to find out if a baby sitter has a clean record, you can check at your countySuperior Court clerk’s office for free (for that county). In most states a statewide check is available by state police, but not in Arizona (you have to check county by county).
  • Registered sex offenders. The Arizona Department of Public Safety provides the state sex offender registry online (the worst of the sex offenders – levels 2 and 3), searchable by name, address or zip code. The registry is located at: For registries in other states,
  • Police reports. Many police departments track criminal activity, such as burglaries, car break-ins and violent crimes, by neighborhood. Check with your local police to see if that information is available. You have the right to read police reports for your neighborhood for crimes that are no longer being investigated. This can be helpful for creating neighborhood crime watch groups. Some police departments (including Tucson) not only break it down by neighborhood or zone, but also put it online See Tucson’s at
  • School performance. Overall standardized school test scores are public. Check with your school district to get a summary of the results for the past several years. Some results are posted online as well by the state. Be aware, however, that test scores are often an indicator of school demographics (education level of parents) rather than quality school.
  • Development plans. Cities and counties are always planning new development in commerce and infrastructure. Some useful records:
  • Road plans. Find out if new highways or main roads are planned.
  • Parks plans. Find out if new parks are planned in your area.
  • New construction. Stop by the planning department at City Hall to find out what new housing developments or businesses are planned. Even finding the zoning in your area is important before buying a house because that nice open field in back might be zoned for industrial or commercial.
  • Comprehensive plans for cities and counties also provide a good indicator for what public officials have in mind for the future. You have a right to look at the plan details.

Planning your FOI request

By Charles Davis and David Cuillier

  • Avoid fishing.Try to limit your request to what you really want. If you simply ask for "all files relating to" a particular subject, you may give the agency an excuse to delay its response, and you risk needlessly running up search and copying costs. Do your homework.
  • Get specific. Cite relevant newspaper clips, articles, congressional reports, etc. If the records have already been released, let the agency know the date, release number, and name of the original requester. If you are asking for a database, talk with the techies ahead of time to know exactly what data you are requesting and in what format. Tour the agency office and ask about what they are working on and specific documents they maintain.
  • Prioritize.Let the agency know if you'd like to receive information in a particular order. Materials could be reviewed and released to you in chronological or geographical order - or you may simply not want to wait for all the records to be reviewed before any are released.
  • Know the law.Know the statutes and case law better than the officials and lawyers. If you know the law and you are entitled to the record then remind yourself that you don’t have to prove you have a right to the record; they have to prove you can’t have it. Remembering that tends to give you more confidence and feel less apprehensive and more empowered.
  • Be polite but persistent. The people on the other side of the counter don’t come to work with horns and cloven hooves. They are people too, and they are more likely to get you what you want faster if you are nice about it, especially at the beginning.
  • Ask verbally.In most cases, first ask for the records verbally. If you are denied or blown off, then submit your request in writing.
  • Submit a request. If you anticipate balking, bluffing, or being passed around or put off, simply submit a public records request letter, which starts the clock ticking and requires them to act and stop passing you around or delaying. On the following pages see a sample state public records request letter generated from the online request letter generator provided free by the StudentPressLawCenter.
  • Go to the top. Sometimes going straight to the agency’s lawyers or top officials speeds things up. Clerks sometimes deny requests or stall as they try to make sure they don’t release something that will get them in trouble. Once the agency attorneys look at it and see it should be released, it often is.
  • Keep forms handy.If you deal with an agency frequently that has its own form, keep copies with you ready to fill out and hand over.
  • Choose your tone.Note the last paragraph of the request letter that threatens litigation. Discuss this with an editor to make sure you are prepared to sue if denied. Also, consider whether the wording may create defensiveness or hostile undermining of your request (e.g. delays). Sometimes it’s better to attract flies with honey than vinegar. But at other times, coming in strongly and quoting the law can demonstrate you are serious and know what you are talking about.
  • Follow through. After you submit a request, always follow it through to the end, especially if they provide the records, even if months after you need it. Also, if denied initially don’t skulk away cowed. If you have a legal right to the information keep at it. How you treat requests and denials will effect how agencies treat requests in the future. Educate officials and get them in the habit of providing information to you and the public. It’s part of their job.
  • Keep records of records. Keep track of every step of your different requests. Keep dates, contact names, phone numbers and try to correspond by email so you can have written records of what was said to whom. Some requests can last years, so keeping track of details can help.

Sample FOI letter 1 - Informal

This informal non-threatening state open records act request letter was crafted by David Cuillier. It is most effective with smaller agencies and if you want them to provide more than what you asked for.

______

November 12, 2007

Mark Rees

Town Manager

North Andover
120 Main Street
North Andover, MA01845

PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

I know you are busy, but I want to thank you in advance for working with me in getting some public records that would help me out. I am writing to request a copy of all expense reports for the town for the past five years.

I would be happy to pay copying and postage fees, but if the cost is more than $10, please contact me and let me know.

I would very much appreciate a response within a few weeks, and if there is information that I am not entitled to, please let me know what it is and why it can’t be made public. I understand that sometimes some information needs to remain secret for statutory reasons, and might need to be blotted out while releasing the public information.

If there is anything I can do to help with the request, please do not hesitate to let me know. Thanks again for your help!

Sincerely,

David Cuillier

The Eagle-Tribune

100 Turnpike Street

North Andover, MA01845

978-946-2000

______

Sample FOI letter 2 - Neutral

This more neutral state open records act request letter was generated online from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press,

______

David Cuillier
The Eagle-Tribune
100 Turnpike Street
North Andover, MA01845
978-946-2000

November 12, 2007

Mark Rees

Town Manager

North Andover
120 Main Street
North Andover, MA01845

RECORDS REQUEST

Dear Records Request Officer:

Pursuant to the state open records act, I request access to and copies of all expense reports for the town for the past five years.

If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

David Cuillier

______

Sample FOI letter 3 - Threatening

This official, stern state open records act request letter was generated online from the Student Press Law Center Web site, A federal FOIA request letter can be generated from Note the threateningparagraph near the end. Cut if you think you aren’t prepared to sue. This letter can be useful if you’ve already haggled and are ready to go to court.

______

Nov. 12, 2007

Mark Rees

Town Manager

North Andover
120 Main Street
North Andover, MA01845

Dear Mr. Rees,

Pursuant to the state open records law, Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 4, sec. 7, cl. 26; ch. 66, secs. 10 to 18, I write to request access to and a copy of all expense reports for the town for the past five years. If your agency does not maintain these public records, please let me know who does and include the proper custodian’s name and address.

I agree to pay any reasonable copying and postage fees of not more than $25. If the cost would be greater than this amount, please notify me. Please provide a receipt indicating the charges for each document.

As provided by the open records law, I will expect your response within ten (10) business days.

If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.

Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine and the award of court costs and attorney fees.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

David Cuillier

The Eagle-Tribune

100 Turnpike Street

North Andover, MA01845

978-946-2000

______

How to handle denials

By Charles Davis and David Cuillier

IF THE AGENCY SAYS…

"YOUR DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS IS INADEQUATE"

This means you probably did not give enough specific identifying information. Give the agency the benefit of the doubt and rewrite your request. You can try to call or make an appointment with the official processing your request to get more help.

"THE REQUESTED MATERIAL DOES NOT EXIST"

If you are reasonably certain the records you've requested do exist, and if your request letter was clear and informative, you should try to do more research. Are there news reports, congressional hearings or court records that describe the information you want more clearly?

Rewrite your request, giving the agency more guidelines and clues for where they might find it. Try to be as patient and understanding as you can; some agencies are short staffed or have disorganized filing systems.

"SOME OF THE MATERIALS ARE EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE, SO WE WON’T GIVE YOU ANY OF THE RECORDS"

The agency can't withhold an entire document or file because some portion(s) of it is exempt from disclosure. The agency must release any non-exempt material that can be reasonably extracted from the exempt portion(s).

"WE CAN’T GIVE IT TO YOU BECAUSE AN EXEMPTION SAYS WE HAVE TO KEEP IT SECRET"

FOIA exemptions are discretionary, not mandatory - an agency is not required to withhold information. Agency officials can choose to waive the exemptions and release the material, unless another statute specifically restricts that disclosure.

"WE JUST DON’T WANT TO GIVE IT TO YOU"

The agency must explain its reasons for determining that an exemption applies to any particular information.

  • You have the right to contest any exemption claim.
  • You can file an administrative appeal to a higher agency official. And if this fails, you can file a lawsuit. The federal court must conduct a full judicial review of the agency's claims and it is up to the agency to justify its denial of your request.
  • Go up the chain and talk to the mayor, elected officials or the agency’s attorney. Sometimes they will see the importance of making the information public and overrule a clerk.
  • The exemptions must be narrowly applied, since the FOIA was created to maximize public access to agency records
  • Even if the agency releases substantial portions of the material you've requested, you can appeal the decision to "sanitize" the rest. You can also request a detailed justification for each deletion.
  • While you are haggling with the agency, try to get the information from another agency. Some records are kept by multiple agencies (for example, boating accident data is kept by state agencies and the Coast Guard).
  • Writing stories about the issue can be very effective in opening up records, particularly if you ask the elected officials what they think about their agencies trying to be secretive and violate the law. It is helpful, as in most stories, to put a human face on it and focus on how the secrecy affects average citizens, not just the newspaper. The agency isn’t saying “no” to you; it’s saying “no” to the public. Tell the public.
  • Get to know the state’s attorneys. If they side with you then that can provide leverage for when you run into hassles over public records.

"OK, OK. HERE ARE YOUR RECORDS. THAT WILL BE $1 MILLION, PLEASE."

You might be able to narrow your request and just get copies of the materials you actually need. In any case, you should be able to view the records for free and not pay for copies.

If you still need copies, discuss ways to reduce the charges. Some possibilities include asking for the information in electronic format instead of paper copies (saved to a disk for a cost of $1).You might be able to use a digital camera or portable scanner to avoid copies.

Arm yourself with what other agencies charge for copies, including for computer programming time if you are seeking a database. If many other agencies charge nothing or very little, then make that known, including by writing a story about it.

"WE ONLY PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION TO RESEARCHERS. YOU CAN HAVE IT IF YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT WITH US."

Some agencies give information to researchers provided they sign a contract with use restrictions, such as prohibiting identification of individuals in the records. Few reporters are willing to sign such agreements. The problem is you might want to use the information for something else later and won’t be able to. Also, fundamentally it designates journalists as above average citizens with special access, and it creates a new category of “public information.” Either it’s public or not. Some journalists advise only considering such agreements when the information is clearly not public but the agency is willing to release it for your story. For discussion on this topic, see Uplink, March/April 2003, p. 1.