Friday, June 24, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
ACLU-NM Investigates Constitutionality of Bloomfield Ten Commandments Monument
Ten Commandments Monument
ACLU-NM Investigates Constitutionality of Bloomfield Ten Commandments
Monument
June 22, 2011
CONTACT: Micah McCoy (505) 266-5915 x.1003 or mmccoy@aclu-nm.org
BLOOMFIELD, NM - Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New
Mexico filed an Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) request with the
City of Bloomfield, NM, requesting records regarding the city's planned
Ten Commandments monument. The monument, soon to be installed in front
of the city hall, may violate the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution which prohibits the government from establishing or
endorsing religious beliefs. Through this IRPA request, the ACLU of New
Mexico seeks to determine whether the City of Bloomfield chose to erect
this monument for a religious purpose.
"Religious freedom thrives when the government stays out of religion and
does not endorse one faith over another," said ACLU-NM Executive
Director Peter Simonson. "Matters of religious belief should be left to
individuals, families and faith communities, not to governments or
political majorities."
Federal courts have repeatedly affirmed that the First Amendment
prohibits the government from promoting one religion over another, or
even showing preference between religion and non-religion. In many
cases, monuments on public property featuring the Ten Commandments have
been ruled as unconstitutional.
As recently as 2009, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the
Haskell County, Oklahoma to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the
county courthouse grounds, saying that a "reasonable observer" would
conclude that the monument was an endorsement of religion. The county's
defense of the monument cost local taxpayers $200,000 in legal fees.
"Which version of the Ten Commandments will the City of Bloomfield
choose to endorse?" questioned ACLU-NM Staff Attorney Leon Howard.
"Catholic? Protestant? Hebraic? The versions are all different. The City
can't erect the monument without snubbing one religious faith or
another."
Micah McCoy
Communications Specialist
ACLU of New Mexico
Office: (505) 266-5915 Ext. 1003
Mobile: (972) 740-6675
http://www.aclu-nm.org/
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Supreme Court Reaffirms Public Access
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
115 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 201 Web: www.nmfog.org (505) 764-3750
Albuquerque, NM 87102 Email: info@nmfog.org (888) 843-9121
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government
Supreme Court Reaffirms Public Access
Citizen complaints against police officers must be released
June 21, 2011
For immediate release
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Welsh, Executive Director
(505) 764-3750
(888) 843-9121
Brief: Citizen complaints filed against police officers are public records and must be released upon demand. That’s the upshot of a New Mexico Supreme Court order issued Monday, which ends a five-year battle by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to withhold such records.
Monday’s order quashed further legal review and gave the last word to the Court of Appeals, which ordered the release of the requested documents in 2010. That opinion was hailed by media organizations and open-government advocates as a victory for public access.
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Sarah Welsh said the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms the public’s right to know and to hold public officials accountable.
* * *
Citizen complaints filed against police officers are public records and must be released upon demand.
That’s the upshot of a New Mexico Supreme Court order issued Monday, which ends a five-year battle by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to withhold records from Charles Cox, a former State Police captain.
Cox’s attorney Cindi Pearlman applauded the outcome.
“The Supreme Court gave the Department of Public Safety every opportunity to show why citizen complaints about the on-duty conduct of officers should not be disclosed to the public,” Pearlman said. “It was unable to do so, because there simply is no good reason to conceal observations about how public servants carry out their duties to the public from the folks who pay their salaries.”
The Supreme Court heard oral argument from both sides in April, and it also accepted friend-of-the-court briefs from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
On Monday the Court declined to issue its own opinion. Instead, the final word rests with the Court of Appeals, which ruled in 2010 that DPS must release the requested records.
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
Charles (Kip) Purcell
President
Terri Cole
Vice President
Kent Walz
Secretary
Patrick J. Rogers
Treasurer
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Sarah Welsh
DIRECTORS
Kathi Bearden
Hobbs
Billie Blair
Santa Fe
Dana Bowley
Los Lunas
David Cargo
Albuquerque
Del Esparza
Albuquerque
Martin Esquivel
Albuquerque
David Gomez
Santa Fe
Charles Goodmacher
Rio Rancho
Karl E. Johnson
Albuquerque
Melanie Majors
Albuquerque
Martha Mauritson
Carlsbad
Paula Murphy
Raton
Iain Munro
Albuquerque
Charles R. Peifer
Albuquerque
Arthur Schreiber
Albuquerque
Phoebe Latimer Spencer
Hobbs
Kyla Thompson
Albuquerque
Robert B. Trapp
Española
Robert White
Albuquerque
Greg Williams
Albuquerque
Daniel Yohalem
Santa Fe
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
115 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 201 Web: www.nmfog.org (505) 764-3750
Albuquerque, NM 87102 Email: info@nmfog.org (888) 843-9121
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government
“The Court of Appeals opinion is now good law, and we can refer to it when people request similar documents in the future,” FOG Executive Director Sarah Welsh said.
The Court of Appeals opinion was hailed by FOG when it arrived, as a victory for public access. The opinion found that citizen complaints against police officers do not fall under an exemption for “matters of opinion in personnel files,” in part because they arise from the officer’s role as a public servant, not his or her employment relationship with a public agency.
“We are pleased that the New Mexico Supreme Court allowed the decision of the Court of Appeals to stand,” FOG Attorney Susan Boe said. “We always believed the ruling by the lower court was correct and was a victory for open government, by informing the public of actions by its public officials which draw complaints from the people they are pledged to serve.”
Pearlman echoed that sentiment.
“The decision of the Court of Appeals was well-reasoned and in line with cases all over the country upholding government transparency,” Pearlman said.
Welsh said Monday’s decision reaffirms the public’s right to know and to hold public officials accountable.
“It goes back to ‘trust but verify,’” Welsh said. “We may choose to trust what public officials tell us, but as citizens we always have the right to dig in, ask questions and see for ourselves. This decision will stand behind any person who wants to do that.”
* * *
FOG is New Mexico’s leading advocate for transparency in government. Its mission is to defend the public’s right to know and to educate citizens and government agencies about their rights and responsibilities under New Mexico’s open-meetings and open-records laws. Launched in 1990 by a group of dedicated journalists and lawyers, FOG has a strong record of bringing sunshine to the halls of power. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, member-supported organization that draws broad support from the general public, business community, elected officials, journalists and lawyers.
Albuquerque, NM 87102 Email: info@nmfog.org (888) 843-9121
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government
Supreme Court Reaffirms Public Access
Citizen complaints against police officers must be released
June 21, 2011
For immediate release
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Welsh, Executive Director
(505) 764-3750
(888) 843-9121
Brief: Citizen complaints filed against police officers are public records and must be released upon demand. That’s the upshot of a New Mexico Supreme Court order issued Monday, which ends a five-year battle by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to withhold such records.
Monday’s order quashed further legal review and gave the last word to the Court of Appeals, which ordered the release of the requested documents in 2010. That opinion was hailed by media organizations and open-government advocates as a victory for public access.
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Sarah Welsh said the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms the public’s right to know and to hold public officials accountable.
* * *
Citizen complaints filed against police officers are public records and must be released upon demand.
That’s the upshot of a New Mexico Supreme Court order issued Monday, which ends a five-year battle by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to withhold records from Charles Cox, a former State Police captain.
Cox’s attorney Cindi Pearlman applauded the outcome.
“The Supreme Court gave the Department of Public Safety every opportunity to show why citizen complaints about the on-duty conduct of officers should not be disclosed to the public,” Pearlman said. “It was unable to do so, because there simply is no good reason to conceal observations about how public servants carry out their duties to the public from the folks who pay their salaries.”
The Supreme Court heard oral argument from both sides in April, and it also accepted friend-of-the-court briefs from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
On Monday the Court declined to issue its own opinion. Instead, the final word rests with the Court of Appeals, which ruled in 2010 that DPS must release the requested records.
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
Charles (Kip) Purcell
President
Terri Cole
Vice President
Kent Walz
Secretary
Patrick J. Rogers
Treasurer
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Sarah Welsh
DIRECTORS
Kathi Bearden
Hobbs
Billie Blair
Santa Fe
Dana Bowley
Los Lunas
David Cargo
Albuquerque
Del Esparza
Albuquerque
Martin Esquivel
Albuquerque
David Gomez
Santa Fe
Charles Goodmacher
Rio Rancho
Karl E. Johnson
Albuquerque
Melanie Majors
Albuquerque
Martha Mauritson
Carlsbad
Paula Murphy
Raton
Iain Munro
Albuquerque
Charles R. Peifer
Albuquerque
Arthur Schreiber
Albuquerque
Phoebe Latimer Spencer
Hobbs
Kyla Thompson
Albuquerque
Robert B. Trapp
Española
Robert White
Albuquerque
Greg Williams
Albuquerque
Daniel Yohalem
Santa Fe
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
115 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 201 Web: www.nmfog.org (505) 764-3750
Albuquerque, NM 87102 Email: info@nmfog.org (888) 843-9121
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government
“The Court of Appeals opinion is now good law, and we can refer to it when people request similar documents in the future,” FOG Executive Director Sarah Welsh said.
The Court of Appeals opinion was hailed by FOG when it arrived, as a victory for public access. The opinion found that citizen complaints against police officers do not fall under an exemption for “matters of opinion in personnel files,” in part because they arise from the officer’s role as a public servant, not his or her employment relationship with a public agency.
“We are pleased that the New Mexico Supreme Court allowed the decision of the Court of Appeals to stand,” FOG Attorney Susan Boe said. “We always believed the ruling by the lower court was correct and was a victory for open government, by informing the public of actions by its public officials which draw complaints from the people they are pledged to serve.”
Pearlman echoed that sentiment.
“The decision of the Court of Appeals was well-reasoned and in line with cases all over the country upholding government transparency,” Pearlman said.
Welsh said Monday’s decision reaffirms the public’s right to know and to hold public officials accountable.
“It goes back to ‘trust but verify,’” Welsh said. “We may choose to trust what public officials tell us, but as citizens we always have the right to dig in, ask questions and see for ourselves. This decision will stand behind any person who wants to do that.”
* * *
FOG is New Mexico’s leading advocate for transparency in government. Its mission is to defend the public’s right to know and to educate citizens and government agencies about their rights and responsibilities under New Mexico’s open-meetings and open-records laws. Launched in 1990 by a group of dedicated journalists and lawyers, FOG has a strong record of bringing sunshine to the halls of power. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, member-supported organization that draws broad support from the general public, business community, elected officials, journalists and lawyers.
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