It is very important for township officials to be in compliance with statutes including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). While many township officials know about the need to take the FOIA into account when it comes to disclosing on not disclosing public records, there are constantly shifting interpretations of the statute in the eyes of the courts that have ultimately caused it being increasingly complex and to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. In recent years a number of developments have surfaced that have had quite the effect relating to Freedom of Information Act as in terms of township officials in the state of Michigan. The following article will offer a brief summary of the most significant of these developments in a convenient way.
Public records are required to be disclosed if they are requested unless the requested records meet one of the express exemptions that are under the Freedom of Information Act. The "privacy" exemption is one of these exemptions that is allowed by the FOIA. Information that can be considered to be "of a personal nature," which means that its disclosure may "constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy" would be in the qualifications for nondisclosure under the "privacy" exemption.
The "privacy" exemption relates to news that has recently come about, being seen in a case that involved the disclosure of the political party preference of an individual voter as stated in a presidential primary. The courts came to determine that the political party preference was not subject to the "privacy" exemption for two different reasons. First, an individual voter's political party preference was not determined to be personal information. Secondly, the public interest of the disclosure of the political party preference of the voter outweighed the privacy interest that could have been claimed. The decision was made in the case Practical Political Consulting v Land.
To be sure that Michigan township officials are in compliance with the demands of the Freedom of Information Act, it is vital that a township lawyer is on board. The Freedom of Information Act had been in effect for over thirty years, and many of today's practicing municipal lawyers have been helping townships to be in compliance with the act and its requirements for many decades. You need an attorney willing to work with your township officials to develop the right FOIA procedures for you that adhere to each of the applicable legal obligations. It is important to find the best attorneys when dealing with FOIA compliance in townships in Michigan.
The Lansing Michigan township attorneys at Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes PLC specialize in aiding townships to be in compliance with FOIA laws. Our municipal law team is dedicated to becoming the best law firm in Michigan for our clients.
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