Explore 29 court opinions on Government Transparency. AI-powered plain English summaries, key holdings, and legal analysis.
29 recent cases analyzed in this topic area.
Court Upholds Open Meetings Act, Orders Fish & Wildlife Commission to be Transparent
Kentucky Open Government Coalition, Inc. v. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission, decided by Kentucky Supreme Court on April 23, 2026, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The...
TDI not immune from TPIA suit, court rules
In Re Texas Department of Insurance, Relator v. the State of Texas, decided by Texas Court of Appeals on April 9, 2026, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. This case concerns whether the Texas Depart...
Court orders Colorado Department of Human Services to re-evaluate release of child welfare records to news media
This case involves a dispute over public records requests made by Colorado Sun and KUSA-TV (9News) to the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). The news organizations sought records related to...
Appellate court upholds City's withholding of police misconduct records
Texas Government Accountability Association v. City of Odessa, decided by Texas Court of Appeals on March 5, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The Texas Government Accountability Association ...
Court Orders Village of Basinger to Release Some, But Not All, Requested Public Records to Citizen
This case involved a dispute over public records requests made by Mr. Mason to the Village of Basinger. Mr. Mason sought various documents related to village operations, including financial records, m...
Recall Petition Against Councilmember Lauser Proceeds on Open Public Meetings Act Violation, Other Charges Dismissed
This case involves a petition to recall Councilmember Lauser from his position on the City of Connell City Council. The petitioners alleged three grounds for recall: (1) Lauser's vote against a resolu...
Ohio Court Orders Clerk of Courts to Release Specific Financial Records, Denies Overly Broad Requests
This case, State ex rel. Patterson v. Starn, involved a dispute over a public records request in Ohio. Patterson, the relator, sought various records from Starn, the respondent, who was the Clerk of C...
Council for Better Education is not a 'public agency' subject to Kentucky's Open Records Act, rules Supreme Court.
This case involves a dispute over whether the Council for Better Education (CBE), a non-profit organization that advocates for public education, is subject to Kentucky's Open Records Act. The Attorney...
Court rules chickens and ducks are livestock under city ordinance
Cleveland Hts. v. Preston, decided by Ohio Court of Appeals on February 5, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The case involves a dispute over a zoning ordinance that prohibited the keeping of...
Texas appeals court orders release of Enterprise Fund records
In Re Cesar Espinosa and FIEL Houston, Inc. v. the State of Texas, decided by Texas Court of Appeals on January 14, 2026, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. This case concerns whether the Texas Depa...
Texas appeals court revives Open Meetings Act challenge against Dallas lease talks
State of Texas, Maxx Juusola, Tracy Martin, and Alan Crider v. City of Dallas, Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, in Her Official Capacity as the Interim City Manager for the City of Dallas and the State Fair of...
Court Affirms NIH's Discretion to Withhold Research Data
Commonwealth of Mass. v. National Institutes of Health, decided by First Circuit on January 5, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The First Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a...
Ohio Appeals Court Upholds School District's Public Records Response
Fiedeldey v. Finneytown Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn., decided by Ohio Court of Appeals on December 31, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The Sixth District Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed...
Ohio 'Red Flag' Law Upheld as Constitutional
State ex rel. Shepherd v. Gall, decided by Ohio Court of Appeals on December 3, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision, holding that t...
Driver's license suspension upheld due to failure to request hearing
State ex rel. Gifford v. Swenski, decided by Ohio Court of Appeals on November 17, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision, holding tha...
State's Attorney Lacks Authority for "People Ex Rel" Action
People ex rel Smith v. Tobin, decided by Illinois Supreme Court on September 18, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a trial court's decision to dismiss a ...
Ninth Circuit: DOL can withhold wage enforcement records under FOIA
Center for Investigative Reporting v. United States Department of Labor, decided by Ninth Circuit on July 30, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) su...
Court Denies Access to Use of Force Records, Citing Personnel Exemptions
Criminal Justice Legal Foundation v. Dept. of Corr. & Rehab., decided by California Court of Appeal on July 28, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF) ...
Texas AG and Governor must release public records to watchdog group
Ken Paxton, in His Official Capacity as Attorney General of Texas, and Greg Abbott, in His Official Capacity as Governor of Texas v. American Oversight, decided by Texas Supreme Court on June 27, 2025...
Texas AG and Governor must release public records to watchdog group
Ken Paxton, in His Official Capacity as Attorney General of Texas, and Greg Abbott, in His Official Capacity as Governor of Texas v. American Oversight, decided by Texas Supreme Court on June 27, 2025...
Nevada Supreme Court Rules Public Records Request Not Overly Broad
IN RE: PUB. RECORDS REQUEST TO LAS VEGAS METRO. POLICE DEP'T, decided by Nevada Supreme Court on May 29, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. This case concerns a public records request made to ...
Nevada Supreme Court Orders Release of Police Misconduct Records
IN RE: PUB. RECORDS REQUEST TO LAS VEGAS METRO. POLICE DEP'T, decided by Nevada Supreme Court on May 29, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. This case concerns a public records request for inte...
D.C. Circuit Upholds FARA Against First Amendment Challenge by Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia v. USA, decided by D.C. Circuit on April 28, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Radio Free Asia's (RFA) lawsuit chal...
DEI Records Exempt from FOIL Disclosure
Matter of Moms for Liberty of Wayne County v. State of N.Y. State Educ. Dept., decided by New York Appellate Division on April 18, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The petitioner, Moms for L...
Ohio Supreme Court Orders Release of Unredacted Police Incident Reports
State ex rel. Ware v. Akron Police Dept., decided by Ohio Supreme Court on April 8, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The Ohio Supreme Court considered whether the Akron Police Department's "...
City's denial of open records upheld based on exemptions
Harvey L. Harrison v. Lisa Mickey, in her official capacity as Open Records Coordinator and City of Des Moines, IA, decided by Iowa Supreme Court on March 14, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome...
Court Upholds FOIA Exemptions for State's Attorney's Office
Banks v. State's Attorney of Cook County, decided by Illinois Appellate Court on March 3, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Banks, sued the State's Attorney of Cook County, all...
City ordinance requiring financial disclosure by employees upheld
American Federation of State etc. Employees v. City of L.A., decided by California Court of Appeal on February 27, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The appellate court affirmed the trial cou...
Hospital Authority must disclose financial records under Open Records Act
City of Madison v. Morgan County Hospital Authority, decided by Georgia Supreme Court on February 18, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The core dispute centered on whether the City of Madiso...