From the Gaston Gazette (3/16/10): Most of the time, government officials do a good job at making public records accessible. It’s the occasional exceptions that tend to stick out like a sore thumb.
Take, for example, a couple of recent instances when North Carolina courts have kept public records sealed. One involves the 911 emergency call recording related to the death of Kathy Taft, a State Board of Education member, who died last week after an apparent attack in Raleigh. Another involves a decision by the N.C. Supreme Court to uphold a judge’s order blocking the release of search warrants and other documents related to the death of a missing woman who was last seen jogging.
This is the atmosphere in which we observe Sunshine Week, a commemoration of individuals’ right to know what their government officials are doing and how they are using taxpayers’ money.
The American Society of Newspaper Editors started Sunshine Week in 2005 to highlight the need to keep the light of public knowledge shining on government officials. The obvious goal of such knowledge is to maintain honesty and accountability among the government agencies who wield their power over the citizenry.
Police, for example, have great power. They can come into our homes, conduct searches, question us and arrest us. While law enforcement officers generally go to great lengths to make sure they aren’t abusing those powers, there are times when abuse does occur. One means of exposing and preventing such abuse is by keeping records available to members of public — the people from whom the authorities derive their power.
In several states, legislators have tried to pass laws blocking access to police records, including 911 recordings, even though such records repeatedly are used to bring about changes ranging from the placement of stop signs to changes in emergency procedures. Knowledge of open government, and the use of that knowledge, has saved untold lives and dollars — often by helping officials eliminate dangers or work more efficiently, sometimes by forcing officials to stop or forgo actions that would violate the law.
In other words, think of open government as a rule. Then think about the danger, injustice and public distrust that can result from making exceptions to it.
Unsung heroes of open government
News media take very seriously their roles of watchdog and public informant. But many of the valuable uses of public information laws have been made by private residents and community groups who seek to protect taxpayers from malfeasance, and their neighbors from public dangers.
And these are the people that this year’s Sunshine Week seeks to honor.
“There are a lot of unsung heroes in the battle for freedom of information, and we plan to use … Sunshine Week to bring attention to those who have fought tirelessly for open government,” American Society of Newspaper Editors President Marty Kaiser said.
Gaston Gazette Staff Editorial