September 9, 2014

OKLAHOMA CITY--The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma Foundation filed an appeal on behalf of Vandelay Entertainment, the publisher of the news and satire blog TheLostOgle.com, in its suit against Governor Mary Fallin. The case came about when the Governor denied a lawful request to release 100 pages of public records she refused to turn over regarding her decision to reject medicaid expansion.

Twenty months after receiving an Open Records Request The Lost Ogle, and over fourteen months after the ACLU of Oklahoma filed suit to compel their release, Governor Fallin handed over 100 pages of emails regarding her decision to reject federal funding of Medicaid expansion.

The ACLU of Oklahoma and its client, The Lost Ogle, argue the release of the documents did not resolve the question of whether the Governor had the authority to withhold the documents in the first place.

“The precedent the Governor is attempting to create would allow the Executive Branch of our state to hide behind bogus privileges, and only reveal requested documents after months of litigation and before untested legal arguments are reviewed by the state’s highest court,” said Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “The people of Oklahoma should not have to resort to a game of litigation brinksmanship in order to get access to information about how their government is being run.”

The initial appeal documents are attached to this Advisory. The Petition in Error asks for reversal of a part of the judgment of Judge Barbara Swinton that allowed the Governor to claim a Deliberative Process Privilege to withhold public records in violation of state law. The Motion to Retain asks the Oklahoma Supreme Court to decide the case itself due to the importance and potential statewide impact of the case, rather than assigning it to a panel of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals

“While the people of Oklahoma enjoyed a short-term victory when the Governor finally made these documents public, the long-term problem of a Governor’s Office attempting to place itself above public accountability remains no less real.  This appeal is necessary to ensure our current and future Governors cannot operate in an environment of secrecy and stonewalling the press and people of Oklahoma,” said Brady Henderson, Legal Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma.

Motion to Retain Appeal in the Oklahoma Supreme Court--Vandelay v Fallin

Petition in Error--Vandelay v Fallin