Post by pavel on May 13, 2016 0:00:00 GMT -6
THE Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the argument that a videotape showing a University of Oklahoma football player punching a coed was not a public record and thus shouldn't be made available. Score one small victory for open government.
The case dates to the summer of 2014, when OU's Joe Mixon got into an altercation in a Norman restaurant. The skirmish was captured on the restaurant's surveillance system. Mixon reached a plea deal and was given a one-year deferred sentence; he also was suspended from the team for the 2014 season.
The state's Open Records Act says facts concerning an arrest must be made public upon request, and that copies should be allowed, too. Norman's city attorney, the police department and the district attorney refused to make available copies of the videotape. The city argued that what was being sought by media organizations “does not depict an arrest or the cause of the arrest.” Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman agreed.
Along the way, authorities allowed Sooners coach Bob Stoops, athletic director Joe Castiglione and OU President David Boren to view the video, and they let a group of media members view it and then report to their readers/viewers what they had seen.
Read more: newsok.com/open-government-wins-with-ok-high-courts-ruling/article/5497766
The case dates to the summer of 2014, when OU's Joe Mixon got into an altercation in a Norman restaurant. The skirmish was captured on the restaurant's surveillance system. Mixon reached a plea deal and was given a one-year deferred sentence; he also was suspended from the team for the 2014 season.
The state's Open Records Act says facts concerning an arrest must be made public upon request, and that copies should be allowed, too. Norman's city attorney, the police department and the district attorney refused to make available copies of the videotape. The city argued that what was being sought by media organizations “does not depict an arrest or the cause of the arrest.” Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman agreed.
Along the way, authorities allowed Sooners coach Bob Stoops, athletic director Joe Castiglione and OU President David Boren to view the video, and they let a group of media members view it and then report to their readers/viewers what they had seen.
Read more: newsok.com/open-government-wins-with-ok-high-courts-ruling/article/5497766