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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Brant Houston, Executive Director, 573-882-2042, brant@ire.org
June 24, 2005
State must release traffic safety data to newspaper
The New York Court of Appeals recently ruled that the Department of Transportation must turn over its list of most dangerous intersections for the Long Island and New York City areas to Newsday.
An amicus brief was filed on behalf of Investigative Reporters and Editors by David B. Smallman, Esq., of DLA Piper Rudnick. Smallman provides pro bono representation to IRE as its regular outside freedom-of-information counsel. Andrew L. Deutsch and Heather Beth Kamins, both also of DLA Piper Rudnick, participated in the filing on behalf of IRE, Daily News, L.P., The Hearst Corporation, NYP Holdings, Inc., and The New York Times.
Jo Craven McGinty was a reporter at Newsday when she requested the data under the state's Freedom of Information Law. The department rejected the request on the grounds that "federally-mandated safety analyses are exempt from disclosure under Federal Law." (McGinty, a former assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism and former database library director and trainer for IRE, now works at The New York Times.)
The unanimous ruling comes after a three-year court battle for the records. The state DOT argued it did not have to release the information based on a federal law intended to keep such information from being used by personal injury lawyers, thereby exposing the state to possibly devastating litigation.
The Court of Appeals held that federal law only said the information could not be used in certain kinds of court cases, not that it should be confidential. The court also said "The premise of FOIL is 'that the public is vested with an inherent right to know and that official secrecy is anathematic to our form of government' (Matter of Fink v Lefkowitz, 47 NY2d 567, 571 [1979]). This premise applies with full force to documents that show what the government is doing to make roads safer."
The amici brief submitted on behalf of IRE and four media companies contained key legislative history that supported the Court’s conclusion that if Congress had meant to exempt from disclosure to the public the dangerous roads and highway data at issue in the case, it could have done so (but did not).
"IRE would like to again thank David Smallman for his efforts in helping us to keep public records open," said Brant Houston, IRE's director. "It is crucial that these battles be fought during a time in which officials are increasingly trying to close records that prevent stories being done that can improve public safety."
Newsday was represented by Stephanie S. Abrutyn and Michael J. Grygiel of McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams in Albany.
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