Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Haverford Township

LORD, Senior Judge.

Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI) appeals from an order of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas refusing it access under the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act (Act), Act of June 21, 1957, P.L. 390, as amended, 65 P.S. §§ 66.1 — 66.4 to audiotapes containing certain telephone calls made to and from the Haverford Township Police Department.1

The facts of this case are essentially not in dispute and are largely drawn from PNI’s brief. On March 17, 1995, an officer of the Haverford Township Police Department witnessed a man driving his car erratically. The man’s speech was…