Practical Political Consulting, Inc. v. Secretary of State

This appeal concerns the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) relating to public records.1 But the central question here is not the availability of public records. Rather it is whether the disclosure, or concealment, of these records will lead to, or detract from, the public’s ability to hold its elected and appointed public officials accountable for carrying out the law. The Secretary of State (the Secretary) and her office would have us hold that these records are statutorily exempt from disclosure and that they are of such a “personal nature” that their public disclosure…