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Constitutional Law

: Chris King's 1st Amendment Page

KingCast writes Senator Biden and VT Senator Pat Leahy on his Open Government Act vis a vis KingCast v. McLeod et al.

By Christopher King

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Dear Senator Leahy:

I admire your career and work on the 2007 Open Government Act and hope that its detractors will stop stonewalling. Has the Secret Senator who placed it on hold been identified? What is the current status?

Update: Found.

Next door to you in New Hampshire we face an issue of first impression:

Are the emails to and from an individual state representative subject to FOIA if that legislator is not in a quorum setting, but if said emails are:

a) made using State time and resources on her state email address.
b) made on her private email address but addressing a public issue.

Obviously the legislatures did not enact FOIA laws so that State Legislators could hide their work on these matters on private emails, then provide the taxpayers a gussied-up version in Committee.

You see, most of the citizens of North Country are appalled at State Representative Martha McLeod for her actions after the tragic double homicide in Franconia involving Liko Kenney, Bruce McKay and multiple-felon Gregory W. Floyd. For more on Floyd, read the ATF/Sullivan post. Representative McLeod -- now running for State Senator -- tried to sneak failed HB 1428 Bruce McKay Highway past her constituents and the Franconia Recovery and Reconciliation Committee as noted in KingCast v. McLeod et al., Grafton County 08-E-192.

The essence of this portion of the case boils down to the position of Colorado legislators and Courts, and of KingCast and of Knox County Law Director John Owings and Chief Deputy Law Director Mary Ann Stackhouse (Political Knoxville story) that such emails are subject to FOIA, versus the State of New Hampshire, which is vigorously trying to shield all of that. I have produced the relevant quotes in the comments section for your review and will telephone your office shortly.

Best regards, Christopher King, J.D.

Full post as published by Chris King's 1st Amendment Page on October 31, 2008 (boomark / email).