Nd public records pro#

Names marked with an asterisk have indicated a willingness to offer pro bono services on a case by case basis.E-Recording - Available at Simplifile, ePN, CSC, or Indecomm GlobalServices The following attorneys and law firms have practiced public records law.

Resources Organizations Attorneys and Law Firms Do agencies have to tell you where to send your appeal? To whom does the appeal go?ДЄttorney General. Do they have to tell you why a portion or pages were redacted or withheld?ДЈ0 days for an Attorney GeneralвЂ™s ruling, 60 days for a lawsuit. Since records are considered public unless specifically exempted, the list is expansive - a complete list can be read here. Exemptions and Appeals What exemptions exist? Are there fee waivers for media requests or those made in the public interest? Does the agency have to give you a tracking number or estimated date of completion?Дamages up to $1,000 can be awarded in civil court. Are there provisions regarding the extension of response times? How can requests be submitted? In-person? Nobody, including any agencies that receive public funding. Specific exemption - The Details Can you submit a request if youвЂ™re not a resident?

All records of public bodies are open for inspection by anyone, unless specifically prohibitedДefinition of public records.

And while the state does offer the chance to get back attorneyвЂ™s fees - and even damages up to $1000 - thatвЂ™s still another hurdle for what is, on paper, one of the broadest, most comprehensive laws on the books. Which brings us to the biggest problem - North Dakota doesnвЂ™t have any proscribed time-frame for which an agency has to produce records, so an agency could stall indefinitely, giving the requester no choice but to sue. And while there is an appeal process through the Attorney GeneralвЂ™s office, itвЂ™s rather narrowly limited to evaluating specific release, rather fees or delays, which can only be handled by civil court. Privacy is the matter of the records officerвЂ™s personal discretion, so even a fairly routine request could lead to an appeal if the officers is so inclined. Now comes the bad news - since exemptions require specific exemptions, thereвЂ™s a whole comprehensive list of them, and one of them, concerning privacy, is so ill-defined as to undercut the entire presumption towards disclosure. If that sounds comprehensive, thatвЂ™s because it is - North Dakota is one of the few states that not only has no carve-outs for the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches (though the latter is covered by a separate law), but also extends the law towards any entity which receives any form of public funding. If nothing else, North Dakota can be praised for its approach to Open Government, which is right there in its state constitution - the public has the right to inspect any record, by any public agency, unless explicitly exempted by law. В§ 44-04-18 et seq, North Dakota Constitution, Article XI, Section 6Д®nacted in 1957, Updated in 1977, Updated in 1993, Updated in 1997, Updated in 1999, Updated in 2001, Updated in 2005, Updated in 2007, Updated in 2009, Updated in 2011, Updated in 2016