New Brechner research paper examines the legal protections that might apply when journalists face demands to unlock their smartphones for police. tl/dr: An alphanumeric code is, legally, more protective than a biometric key. https://ncjolt.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/12/NCJOLT-Vol.-23.2_214-269_LoMonte.pdf
Bill supporters argue that secrecy is needed to attract the best candidates to lead our institutions. As @PamMarshFAF explains, Florida schools have soared in rankings with leaders picked in the Sunshine. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2022/01/11/public-records-exemption-florida-university-president-searches-returns/9156015002/ via @tdonline
The fourth annual National Freedom of Information Coalition research competition welcomes one-page proposals for papers that shed light on freedom of information, particularly those focusing on technology and FOI. Learn more: http://ow.ly/mr1H50Hsjwg
Excited to see this in the wild (and grateful for the help of law student Phil Sliger and careful JOLT editors): What's the best way for journalists, amateur and professional, to search-proof their smartphones?
SMARTPHONE SECURITY FOR THE MOBILE JOURNALIST: SHOULD REPORTERS GIVE POLICE THE FINGER?
As civil unrest flared across the United States following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, videogr...
ncjolt.org
State-level data about COVID in schools is almost worthless, as a result of (a) noncompliance by school districts that won't submit numbers, and (b) the practice of "suppressing" numbers based on misunderstanding of privacy law. https://www.gilmermirror.com/2022/01/08/how-much-has-omicron-increased-covid-19-cases-in-texas-schools-its-too-soon-to-tell/
Government agencies do such a terrible job keeping track of eviction data that many cannot say whether evictions are going up, down, or staying the same. #datadeserts
Cities Need More Robust Data and Analysis to Better Address the Eviction Crisis
A new report says that localities should build partnerships with courts and organizations to capture more types of data to spot and stop evictions.
www.route-fifty.com
@FrankLoMonte authors Copyright Versus the Right to Copy: The Civic Danger of Allowing Intellectual Property Law to Override State Freedom of Information Law—available online HERE:
https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/students/publications/llj/pdfs/vol-53/issue-1/10_LoMonte%20(159-210)_FINAL.pdf
GAO: Justice Department didn't bother publishing legally required annual data about police use of force, in part because nobody was assigned to do it. The state of federal criminal justice data is a trainwreck.
New accountability report hits DOJ over lack of police shooting data
The report found that DOJ didn't publish an annual data about excessive force by police from 2016 to 2020.
www.axios.com
For #FOIA/transparency folks, do check out the Journal for Civic Information, which *is* all open and accessible and shared out to key networks, from @BrechnerCenter & edited by @DavidCuillier https://journals.flvc.org/civic/issue/archive
Good news: Police use-of-force reports are now online in Ohio. Not-as-good news: Cooperation is voluntary, and some police agencies aren't.
You can now search Ohio‘s police use of force database
More than 200 law enforcement agencies in Ohio have voluntarily reported over 5,500 use of force reports through t...
www.cleveland19.com