Description
Understand the principles behind sunshine laws and how best to implement them effectively.
Sunshine laws are designed to ensure that people may access governmental records and the deliberative decisionmaking process of elected officials in order to be informed citizens. Yet there are times when the government best protects the interests of the public or the personal information of individuals by withholding or redacting public records or meeting outside of the public eye. The principles behind sunshine laws are straightforward, yet their provisions can be difficult to apply. This topic helps legal practitioners, government employees, elected officials, and journalists to identify fundamental features of both public record request laws and open meetings laws. Without an understanding of the nuances of sunshine laws, government employees and elected officials risk bad media publicity or possibly could face disciplinary action, lawsuits, and penalties. Armed with the fundamentals of sunshine laws, journalists are equipped with the skills to better obtain information for reporting. This topic is critical for legal practitioners in state and local government law in order for them to implement sunshine laws effectively.
Date: 2019-08-23 Start Time: End Time:
Learning Objectives