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Imagine my surprise when I discovered the following story from Tennessee on the very day that Tom Tardif and I put the finishing touches on the brief for our second case before the NH Supreme Court involving the Right-to-Know law. You’ll recall that the two cases involve, in whole or in part, members of the Belknap County Convention– made up of the elected NH House members from the county– and the process by which they appointed a replacement Sheriff. It is our contention that they illegally entered into non public meetings– "closed door"– and made their pick. They then erroneously withheld key documents that the Right-to-Know law requires to be available. You can read more detail here.
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Anyway, when I read this story from the TENNESEAN.com, I just couldn’t believe how similar the story from Knoxville Tennessee was to ours. I hope the judges here in our state come to the same conclusion as they got…
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12 Knox County officials ousted by open-meeting ruling Jury finds officials selected secretly
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD
Associated PressKNOXVILLE — In a striking verdict against government secrecy, a judge and jury threw out a dozen Knox County officeholders because they were handpicked behind closed doors..It was the largest housecleaning of public officials ever in Tennessee for violating the state’s Open Meetings Act, and open government advocates hope it serves as a warning to city councils and county commissions around the country.
Pretty good so far, right? There’s even more. It was ruled
that the 19-member Knox County Commission violated the spirit and intent of the state’s open-meetings law when members filled vacancies for eight term-limited commissioners and four countywide officers, including the sheriff, on Jan. 31.
Amazing! This is nearly an EXACT duplication of the case we have going presently here in the Granite State. Right down to some of the finer details:
The jury found that commissioners secretly deliberated and voted on whether, when and under what rules to hold the meeting for new appointments.
This is very heartening for us as we head into the final stretch at the Supreme Court. Perhaps the sentiment shown in the Volunteer State will catch hold here.
Loren Cochan, director of the Freedom of Information Service Center at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Arlington, Va., said a national trend may be developing at the local level. "We are seeing that the public is standing up and complaining when they are shut out," he said.
Indeed. Stay tuned. I will publish our brief here on the ‘Grok as soon as we deliver it to the Court.