Miscellaneous

Idle Hands

By Anne Skove, Esq.

It's no secret that someone serving 19 years might could use a hobby.

A Washington state man convicted of first-degree arson for firebombing cars belonging to his opponents' lawyers spends his free (so to speak) time looking up personal information about public officials. Judges, prosecutors, staff, court commissioners, state troopers -- all are subjects of his ongoing investigations.

His criminal history includes harassment and stalking. To ensure that his future does not, the King County (Seattle) prosecutor seeks permission to ignore this man's Public Records Act requests, and to bar him from making further requests.

Proponents of open government say it doesn't matter; he won't get the records even if he asks, so there's no harm in letting him do so. A court order could stop release of records if denying the request is "in the public interest," but the prosecutor's office seeks the further remedy of preemptively blocking abusive requests.

See Arsonist's Case Tests Limits of Wash. Public Records Act, Gene Johnson, Seattle Post Intelligencer (January 29, 2008).

Meanwhile, down in Texas, state employees cannot lie about their age: Court Rules State Employee Birth Dates Are Public Record, Alison Schmidt, RCFP (January 18, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on January 30, 2008 (boomark / email).