Newman v. King County

— The Petitioner, King County, seeks discretionary review of a trial court order holding the files of an open police investigation are subject to disclosure under the public disclosure act (PDA), RCW 42.17. The question presented in this case is whether information within an open police investigation can be withheld from disclosure under RCW 42.17.310(l)(d) because the nondisclosure of the information is essential to effective law enforcement. The superior court ordered an in camera review of the entire file to segregate "public” documents, which must be disclosed, from "non public”…