Newspapers in the Hoosier state, in a unique project, banded together
to report on a story as a group--a virtually unknown practice. The subject
they chose: How well is their government following the law. The specific
topic: Are officials violating the freedom of information laws and illegally
mis-managing public records?
The short answer is yes, yes and yes. The results prompted project leader
Donald Asher to remark, "As audit results poured in, it became clear that
Indiana was indeed in a 'State of Secrecy'." Bureaucrats were doing what
they wanted with public records, and not complying with the law. And no
one paid any price for the violations. The report broke statewide and ran
for as long as a week in some of the papers.
When reporters approached bureaucrats in county after county, they were
repeatedly rebuffed, shuffled and flat-out lied to. The arrogance of the
officials is apparent in the reasons they gave for their failure to comply
with the law. Bureaucrats decided to break the law because:
The state law was "outdated" (Monroe County)
The sheriff said the law must be wrong (Lawrence County)
You need "a good enough reason" (Allen County)
You need a written request from the county attorney (not true) (Randolph
County)
We're "too busy" or the proper person is unavailable (a frequent excuse)
You're "misinformed" about the law (Delaware County)
If you want proper compliance "get a lawyer" (Steuben County)
"Go get a court order" (not required) (Jackson County)
We don't comply because you have "no personal interest" (Clinton County)
"How do I know you're not an ax murderer" (Ruth County)
One bureaucrat actually admitted using the state computer to check out
the background of the person making the request. Readers called the seven
newspapers involved and applauded the effort. Among their remarks, "It's
unconscionable that this goes on in our country today. Government cannot
be held accountable successfully without a clear understanding by public
officials that they are OUR servants." "If there are no penalties for violations,
why have the laws?" "They are the servants, not the masters." One reader
suggested tying compliance with the laws to performance reviews. 98.4 percent
said penalties should be assessed (but there are none).
(Based on an extensive report published in Quill, the magazine of the
Society of Professional Journalists, April 1998)
Alan Korwin is a full-time free-lance writer and author of seven books
on gun law, including Gun Laws of America Every Federal Gun Law on the
Books with Plain English Summaries. Permission to reprint this article
is granted to non-profit organizations, provided credit is given to Alan
Korwin, Bloomfield Press, Phoenix, AZ. All others, just call us.
