2008 News

County association wants to weaken open meeting law
Las Vegas Review-Journal
County officials in Nevada have decided an experiment in open government where top appointed officials undergo performance evaluations in public just doesn’t work.
Sep. 02, 2008

THOMAS MITCHELL: Why the public deserves to know
Las Vegas Review-Journal
In 2001, the Orlando Sentinel filed a public records request seeking to have a private medical examiner view the autopsy photos taken after driver Dale Earnhardt was killed in a race car crash at the Daytona 500.
Aug. 10, 2008

THOMAS MITCHELL: Open judicial selection
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Since this space is frequently devoted to bemoaning government secrecy and closed-door meetings, I would be remiss, nay, derelict if I failed to offer a tip o’ the hat in recognition of the fact the Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection has chosen to throw open its doors and let the public see just how they go about selecting judges to fill mid-term vacancies.
Jul. 27, 2008

THOMAS MITCHELL: No secret divorces
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The language in Nevada’s statute covering divorce trials is clear and unambiguous. Just perhaps, therein lies its flaw. It says: “In any action for divorce, the court shall, upon demand of either party, direct that the trial and issue or issues of fact joined therein be private.”
Jun. 01, 2008

THOMAS MITCHELL: Time is running out for Toni Locy
Las Vegas Review-Journal
“Time is running out for me.” I heard those chilling words when I was in Philadelphia this past weekend for a conference of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.
May. 18, 2008

THOMAS MITCHELL: Taxation without representation
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A deputy attorney general told them they couldn’t do it. This newspaper told them they shouldn’t do it. The state attorney general sued them and said they couldn’t do it legally. The Legislature even changed the wording of the law to explicitly say they couldn’t do it, even though existing law never allowed it in the first place.
Apr. 27, 2008

Nevada Supreme Court rules Tax Commission violated open meeting law
Las Vegas Review-Journal
In a victory for proponents of open government, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the state Tax Commission violated the open meeting law when it deliberated and voted on a tax appeal in closed session.
Apr. 25, 2008

Open meeting law complaint filed
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A parent who claims the Clark County School District violated state open meeting law requirements during a March zoning meeting has filed a complaint with the Nevada attorney general’s office.
Mar. 29, 2008

NEW RULES: Court begins unsealing records
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The crypt at Clark County District Court inched open this month as the public got its first glimpse of court records once considered to be permanently hidden.
Feb. 25, 2008

THOMAS MITCHELL: The heavy lifting begins
Las Vegas Review-Journal
After months of exhaustive research, interviews, filing public records requests, prodding, probing and making himself a royal pest over at the courthouse, Review-Journal special projects reporter Frank Geary this past February began a series of articles detailing the surprisingly lackadaisical manner in which county judges had been sealing information in public court records from public view.
Jan. 06, 2008

Standards for sealing civil cases tougher
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Civil court records will remain open to the public unless a compelling privacy or safety argument can be made for sealing them, the Nevada Supreme Court decided.
Jan. 01, 2008

EDITORIAL: Open government
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The House approved an expansion of the Freedom of Information Act, which includes penalties for federal agencies that don’t comply.
Dec. 20, 2007

EDITORIAL: ‘Of great interest’
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Gov. Jim Gibbons is clearly conflicted about the amount of sunshine he wants to let in on the state’s pending spending reductions.
Dec. 13, 2007

THOMAS MITCHELL: Spirit of law is clear: release budget plans
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The governor may well be within his legal rights to withhold budget information, but that doesn’t make it right.
Nov. 18, 2007

Storey school board cleared of open meeting law violations
Nevada Appeal
The Nevada Attorney General’s Office has declined to take action on seven complaints about alleged violations of the open meeting law by the Storey County School Board of Trustees, though its investigator did criticize some of the board’s actions.
Oct. 22, 2007

SEALED COURT RECORDS: Panel works on access policy
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Members of a commission considering a policy on civil court records — when to keep them open to the public and when they should be sealed from view — struggled with the wording of a seven-page draft proposal.
Aug. 27, 2007

Commission discussing open civil case records
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Civil court records would remain open unless a “compelling” case can be made why they should be hidden from public view, under a proposed policy.
Aug. 27, 2007

Committee says court records should be open
Nevada Appeal
A committee studying access to court records essentially agreed that judges shouldn’t arbitrarily order court documents sealed.
Jun. 19, 2007

2007 Legislature lets in more sunshine on state and local governments
Nevada Appeal
As the sun rose on the morning after adjournment, it was clear the 2007 Legislature’s actions will help shed more light on Nevada’s state and local governments.
June 10, 2007

Nevada lawmakers vote for open records bill
Las Vegas Sun
A bill setting timetables for government agencies to respond to requests for public records won final approval as the 2007 legislative neared adjournment.
June 04, 2007

Bill supporting requests for public records advances to full Assembly
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A bill setting timetables for government agencies to respond to requests for public records won approval in a key committee and was sent to the Nevada Assembly for a final legislative test.
Jun. 03, 2007

Panel opens debate over sealing of records
Las Vegas Review-Journal
For the next 90 to 180 days, members of the Nevada Supreme Court’s newly formed Commission on the Preservation, Access and Sealing of Court Records will explore secrecy in court cases as they shape recommendations that will define when it is proper to cut off public access to civil and criminal cases and when it is not.
May 22, 2007

Judge pledges to emphasize open records
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A day after Republican state lawmakers killed a proposal to keep court records open to the public, the chairman of a newly formed state commission insisted the group will issue prompt, meaningful recommendations aimed at keeping court records open.
May 20, 2007

Bill to keep court records open rejected
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A bill that would have required judges to have public hearings and specify why court records should be sealed died on a 4-3 vote during an impromptu Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
May 18, 2007

Judge, prosecutor oppose bill to keep court records open
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Preventing judges from easily sealing court cases could allow stalkers to find the addresses of the people they target, Clark County Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle testified.
May 10, 2007

Bill opening children’s abuse records advances
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A bill that would require child welfare agencies to release much more information about children in their care who die or are critically injured appears to be well on its way to becoming law.
May 03, 2007

Lawmakers vote for open records bill
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Authors, journalists and other citizens who want to access public records should have an easier time under a bill a Nevada Senate panel passed — unless they’re trying to get records from the state’s Gaming Control Board.
Apr. 14, 2007

Bill would exempt Parole Board from state open meeting law
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A Parole Board official asked a Senate committee Monday to pass a bill allowing the board to continue to operate without having to follow the state’s open meeting law in all aspects of its review of inmate cases.
Apr. 10, 2007

Senate panel compromises on open records measure
Las Vegas Review-Journal
An open records bill was endorsed by a Senate subcommittee after being changed to require agencies to respond to records requests within five working days instead of two days as proposed.
Apr. 10, 2007

Bill to limit judges’ power to seal records supported
Las Vegas Review-Journal
State lawmakers and others expressed support Friday for a legislative proposal that would take from judges the authority to seal at their discretion lawsuits and other civil court records.
Apr. 07, 2007

CONFIDENTIAL VS. PUBLIC: Tax panel meetings debated
Las Vegas Review-Journal
A bill that would clarify when the Tax Commission could go into closed session to hear an appeal by a taxpayer was supported by state officials and a press representative in a hearing before the Senate Taxation Committee.
Apr. 06, 2007