ACLU of Oklahoma Statements in Response to District Court Order in Lost Ogle v. Fallin

OKLAHOMA CITY –

The following statement is attributable to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director, ACLU of Oklahoma –

While we respectfully disagree with the District Court’s finding that a deliberative process privilege exists under Oklahoma law, this order holds that the Governor of Oklahoma can no longer unilaterally hide documents under the Open Records Act. Regardless of the outcome of any appeals, the fact that the government must turn over a log of the documents to the Court means at the very least that an independent set of eyes will review documents the Governor of Oklahoma has up to this point refused to disclose to the public. This is only the beginning of our work and we look forward to the next steps in the process to ensure that our client and the people of Oklahoma have the transparency they are afforded by the law.

The following statement is attributable to Brady Henderson, Legal Director, ACLU of Oklahoma –

Judge Swinton's ruling contains both immediate victories and temporary setbacks for our ongoing work to defend government transparency and accountability in Oklahoma. Judge Swinton's ruling rejected the Governor's unilateral claim of "executive privilege" and orders her to disclose important information about the documents she refused to release. Unfortunately, the Judge's ruling did not reject another form of government secrecy, namely "deliberative process privilege," that we believe is not supported by Oklahoma law. While disappointing, today's ruling does not close the door on government transparency and accountability in Oklahoma.

See attached Order of Oklahoma County District Court