Wish me luck, folks....

Today, I go to court trying to force the local public/educational broadcasting system to recognize that they are governed by the Freedom of Information Act.

I filed a FOIA request for information, and they refused it.

If I win, it's a pretty big deal, at least to me.

Hope it works out for you.

P.

where you looking for?

for overtime-exempt salaried employees who make over $10,000 a year.

Why? Because rumor has it that they've been doing some hinky things with employment compensation packages for the "Fat Cats", like arranging very expensive country club memberships at private clubs with discriminatory admissions policies, and other things like listing employees who should be getting overtime as overtime-exempt salaried, in violation of DoL regulations.

This is all strictly unsubstantiated rumor. I want to find out the truth. Since the organization is completely owned by the government, I should be able to.

but had a great time doing it. Their lawyers are shitting kittens, the judge "strongly suggested" that I appeal his decision, and he had very kind words for me as he handed down his decision. He noted that due to the time frames involved, and the fact that there was no discovery available, that I had put together a surprising amount of information about them.

The appeal is filed, and I have 30 days to perfect it. In the meantime, I now know why they claim to be FOIA exempt, and can line up and subpoena witnesses to rip their position to shreds. This is important because the only information I had from the defendant going into the hearing was basically that "We're FOIA exempt", with no details at all.

The opposition's lead attorney is a very nice guy (surprising to me, since I don't hold most lawyers that I know personally and professionally in very high esteem) and I feel sorry for him, since there's going to be a world of hurt coming down on them. After the decision (where the judge "strongly suggested " that I appeal, he said to me "you aren't going to file an appeal, are you?" Of course, I can't let that alter my decision to pursue this as far as it can be pushed until I get a satisfactory result.

Now I just gotta get my butt to the law library and on the phone to the State Auditors and a few other folks... :)

DNR

Are you a lawyer?