ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT RECORDS

B. Interpretations of the Open Records Act:

Court interpretations of open records act

1. Stone v. Consolidated Publishing: When the Anniston Star sought
access to financial records of Jacksonville State University's
foundation, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that some
say has clouded the directness of the state's open records laws. The
court in the 1981 case held that "Recorded information received by a
public officer in confidence, sensitive personnel records, pending
criminal investigations, and records the disclosure of which would be
detrimental to the best interests of the public are some of the areas
which may not be subject to public disclosure." Stone v.
Consolidated Publishing Co., 404 So. 2d 678 (Ala. 1981)

2. Payroll Records: In a 1983 opinion, the Attorney General said that
payroll records of Etowah County were public records. "Citizens
should have a right to know the salary and compensation of public
servants if they so desire," the opinion states. The opinion goes on to
state that the custodian of the records has the responsibility to set
"reasonable limitations" on access so that the functions of the office
will not be impaired and so that the expense to the government office
will be kept to a minimum.

3. Personnel Records: In a 1989 decision, the Alabama Supreme
Court held that under Alabama's Open Records Act, ALA. CODE §
36-12-40, applications, resumes and other related materials used by a
county commission in hiring a water and sewer service coordinator
could be accessed by the press. The Court held that access would be
denied only if disclosure of the information would result in undue
harm or embarrassment to the individual, or if public interest would
clearly be affected adversely. Chambers v. Birmingham News
Company, 552 So. 2d 854 (Ala. 1989). Public school records of
individual students are not open to public inspection, but the
individual students or former students do have a federally guaranteed
right of access to their own records kept by the public school or
public institution of higher learning. However, employees of school
boards have no such federal right.

The public may obtain the following information from a teachers'
personnel record:

a. Specific salary expenditure account information.

b. The race and sex of the employee.

c. The current assignment of the employee.

4. The rank and type of teaching certificate or endorsement a teacher
holds.

e. The employee's employment experience record.

f. The employee's gross salary.

g. Date of hire and attainment of tenure.

h. Applications, disciplinary actions and memoranda of reprimand.

1. After action by the board has been taken, recommendations of the
superintendent for transfer or discipline.
Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 96-00003 (Oct. 4, 1995). This opinion would
appear to hold true for other governmental employees also.

4. Computer Information: Computer records are considered public
records. Computer tapes concerning driver's license records are
public records subject to disclosure upon payment of the "actual,
reasonable cost incurred by the Department to create any new
computer program required to comply with any such request by the
(paper), and that (the paper) pay ...$5.75 for each and every
individual driving record identified by named driver in any such
copy of the Department's databases delivered to the (paper)."
Birmingham News v. Alabama Department of Public Safety, a
decision rendered by the Circuit Court of Montgomery County July
22, 1993. However, this opinion should be carefully reviewed in light
of the passage of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act which creates
federal restrictions upon access to driver's license registration
records.

5. Standardized Test Scores: A St. Clair County circuit judge
ordered the local school system to release standardized student test
scores averaged by school rather than only by school district. He
also ordered the state superintendent of education to release the
information by school.

6. Protection of Records: Custodians of public records have a duty to
protect the integrity of public documents and can restrict access to
those who seek them only for idle curiosity. However, the news
media are clearly appropriate vehicles by which citizens can learn
about the activities of government. Stone v. Consolidated Publishing
Co., 404 So. 2d 678, 681 (Ala. 1981). Holcombe v. State, 200 So.
739, 744 (Ala. 1941). Blankenship v. City of Hoover, 590 So. 2d
245, 250 (Ala. 1991).

7. Law Enforcement Records: Generally, law enforcement
investigative reports and materials are government records not open
to public inspection. Field notes, witness statements and other
investigative writings or recordings are protected from disclosure.
Ala. Code § 12-21-3.1 (Supp. 1998)

a. Jail Logs: Ala. Code § 36-22-8:

"The sheriff must keep, in his office and subject to the inspection of
the public during office hours, a well-bound book, to be procured at
the expense of the county, in which he must enter a description of
each prisoner received into the county jail, showing the name, age,
sex, color and any other distinguishing marks, together with the
charge for which such prisoner is held, the order and date of
commitment and the order and date of release."

b. Uniform Incident/Offense Reports: In an important case upholding
the right of public access to police complaint reports, a Jefferson
County circuit judge ordered the City of Mountain Brook to make
the reports available for inspection to reporters at reasonable times of
the day, subject to the city's judgment that disclosure of certain
information would "actually interfere with conduct of the efforts of
respondents." (The Birmingham News Co. v. Watkins, No. 38389
(Cir. Ct. Jefferson Co., Ala., Oct 30, 1974).

c. Autopsy reports: Reports of autopsies performed by the State
Department of Forensic Sciences are open to public inspection.
ALA. CODE § 36-18-2 (1975).