Admittedly, dealing with public records can be complicated. But you'll
find help on the Web site recently developed for the Maine Freedom of
Information Coalition.
The mission of MFOIC, which organized as a nonprofit in January 2001, is to
seek broad access to information about your government and its actions.
Members include media organizations, lawyers, public-policy groups, academics
and private individuals who believe that "government best serves the public when
it operates in the most open manner possible."
MFOIC's Web site – www.mfoic.org - provides quick and easy access to state
and federal laws pertaining to freedom of information. It offers sample
letters you can use to obtain information, and fill in-the-blanks form that will
let you craft a solidly legal request under Maine's Freedom of Access
requirements. There is a detailed explanation of our state law by
Jonathan S. Piper and Sigmund D. Schutz, two of Maine's top media
lawyers.
The MDOIC Web site clearly defines your right to be present at public
meetings. It also provides a printout of a pocket guide to the law that
governs open meetings, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists, the
Maine Press Association, the New England Press Associations, Blethen Maine
Newspapers and MFOIC.
You'll find links to the Maine Civil Liberties Union site, which features
detailed information on privacy, reproductive rights, racial profiling and the
rights of gays, lesbians, students and prisoners. This organization will
also, on occasion, provide legal help.
MFOIC's site also supplies links to national organizations interested in
sunshine laws. It features an online forum where members can discuss
issues and an electronic form you can use to notify members of access issues you
feel are important.
(Casco Bay Weekly, 4/11/02)
Preti Flaherty has offices in Portland, Bath and Augusta, Maine, Concord, NH and Boston, MA. With more than 80 attorneys, the firm counsels clients in the areas of business law, energy, environmental, estate planning, health care, intellectual property, labor and employment, legislative and regulatory, litigation, technology and telecommunications.
