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Delaware Department of Justice
Attorney General
Kathy Jennings


Attorney General's Opinions




14-IB03 06/16/14 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Morse, Ms. Roe and Ms. Wallace re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Newark Board of Adjustment

Date Posted: Monday, June 16th, 2014

The Complainant alleged the Board of Adjustment of the City of Newark (“Board”) held an “open meeting” in violation of the Freedom of information Act (“FOIA”) because it failed to provide a facility for a hearing that was large enough to accommodate all who wished to attend. The meeting had been moved to the auditorium at Newark High School. Held: the size of the venue chosen was “reasonable.” Public comment was not allowed or required in any event.

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14-IB02 05/27/14 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Hittinger re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Delaware Transit Corporation

Date Posted: Tuesday, May 27th, 2014

The Complainant alleged the Delaware Transit Corporation (“DTC”) improperly refused to provide copies of contracts between Gateway Outdoor Advertising (“Gateway”) and various entities that purchased advertising space on DTC buses. Gateway contracts with DTC to sell bus advertising. Held: DTC’s rights and powers under its contract with Gateway were not sufficient to make the contracts with advertisers “public records.”

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14-IB01 01/13/14 FOIA (Informal) Opinion Letter to Mr. Welch and Mr. Schrader re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Frankford Town Council

Date Posted: Monday, January 13th, 2014

The Complainant alleged the Town Council of Frankford (the “Council”) conducted an “open meeting” in violation of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) on the basis of the absence of discussion of a proposed charter amendment eliminating a cap of fifteen percent of payroll on pension and health care benefits for town employees. The Town had continuously exceeded the cap for years, a fact that was discussed at least twice at public meetings attended by the Complainant. The proposed amendment simply eliminated the cap. Held: in the absence of evidence of a meeting of a quorum of the Council, serially or otherwise, there was no basis to conclude a violation of FOIA’s “open meetings” provision occurred.

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13-IB11 12/31/13 FOIA (Informal) Opinion Letter to Ms. DiRocco re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the City of Wilmington

Date Posted: Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

The Complainant alleged challenged copying fees assessed by the City of Wilmington (the “City”) for copies of public records. Held: fees higher than those stated in the Freedom of Information Act may only be charged if they have been approved by formal legislative process, not by rules or regulations.

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13-IB10 12/06/13 FOIA (Informal) Opinion Letter to Mr. Mancus re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Kent County Board of Elections

Date Posted: Friday, December 6th, 2013

The Complainant alleged the Kent County Board of Elections (the “Board”) met without proper notice having been posted. The Board posted the notice and agenda for the meeting on the Kent County Department of Elections website, but not on the State of Delaware website as required. Held: the violation was not sufficiently substantial to warrant invalidation of the actions taken at the meeting, but the Board was admonished to fully comply with posting requirements in the future.

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13-IB09 11/26/13 Attorney General Opinion re: Cash Management Policy Board

Date Posted: Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE Attorney General Opinion No. 13-IB09 November 26, 2013 OPINION Questions Presented The Cash Management Policy Board (the “CMPB”) has asked this Office to render a formal opinion with regard to the following questions: 1. As between the Office of the State Treasurer (the “State Treasurer”) and […]

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13-IB08 11/26/13 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Chase re: ACLU-DE FOIA Complaint Against Delaware Department of Corrections

Date Posted: Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

The Complainant alleged the Department of Correction (“DOC”) violated the Freedom of information Act (“FOIA”) by failing to produce calibration and maintenance records of “Alco-Sensors.” DOC withheld the records on the basis of a statutory provision that DOC policies and procedures were not subject to disclosure except on written authority of the Commission. Held: the documents were not specifically excluded from the definition of “public records” and must therefore be produced.

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13-IB07 11/21/13 FOIA (Informal) Opinion Letter to Mr. Chase re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Delaware Department of Corrections

Date Posted: Thursday, November 21st, 2013

The Complainant alleged the Department of Corrections (“DOC”) violated the “open records” provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) by refusing to release records concerning the purchase, acquisition, storage, and disposal of drugs used for lethal injections. Held: the requested records were not “trade secrets” exempt from disclosure.

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13-IB06 11/20/13 FOIA (Informal) Opinion Letter to Mr. Chase re: FOIA Complaint Concerning New Castle County (911 Calls)

Date Posted: Wednesday, November 20th, 2013

The Complainant alleged New Castle County violated the “open records” provision of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) by refusing to release audio recordings of 911 calls made from the residence of Vice President Biden. Held: privacy interests under the U.S. Constitution and Delaware law outweighed whatever interest the public might have in disclosure of the recordings.

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13-IB05 10/01/13 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Flaherty and Ms. Buckley re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Charter School Reform Working Group

Date Posted: Tuesday, October 1st, 2013

The Complainant asked for a determination whether a twenty-four member working group appointed by the Governor to provide recommendations regarding charter schools (the “Working Group”) was a “public body” subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). Held: yes.

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