Voters say thumbs down to public records law violators

A majority of Nevadans would not vote for a candidate whose office disobeys state public records laws, according to the most recent Nevada Poll.

The poll surveyed 500 likely voters from Feb. 26-March 1. About 64 percent of respondents said they would not support a candidate “whose government or agency willfully and regularly disobeys” records laws in the next election, while just 10 percent said they would.

The remaining 26 percent were uncertain or declined to answer.

Opinions were split nearly evenly among political ideology, gender, age and most other demographic factors.

One minor split was among income brackets, as half of those willing to support a candidate with a dubious public records history make less than $50,000 per year. About two-thirds of those opposed to such a candidate made more than $50,000.

“Too many government officials in Nevada believe they’re immune to public scrutiny,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to get an agency to follow the law, but too often that’s the case. Public records give taxpayers a window to the work they fund. If they can’t see it, government isn’t accountable.”

All records open by default

Sunday marks the beginning of Sunshine Week, a nationwide celebration and reaffirmation of the importance of public records laws and open government access started by the News Leaders Association.

The Nevada Public Records Act assumes all government records are open unless a separate law specifically declares them to be confidential, although there are hundreds of statues that put certain records off limits.

The law also requires public agencies to provide records within five business days or explain why they cannot, although requests are often delayed beyond the five-day period. If a request is denied, state law requires the public organization to prove the record must be confidential or simply redact the confidential material and produce the record.

Loser pays … a lot

The Review-Journal has won several recent legal victories after lengthy fights with the Clark County Coroner’s office, Clark County School District and Metropolitan Police Department after the entities failed to turn over public records.

The newspaper has been awarded nearly $700,000 in reimbursement for legal fees, all underwritten by Nevada taxpayers, as a result of these attempts to limit the public’s access to crucial records. The public also bears the entire brunt of the agency’s legal defense fees, likely also in the hundreds of thousands in just these handful of cases.

In 2018, a Clark County District Court judge sided with the Review-Journal and Associated Press in ruling the coroner must release the autopsy reports of those killed during the Route 91 Harvest festival mass shooting on Oct. 1, 2017.

A judge also ruled in the newspaper’s favor and against the police department, which refused to produce 911 calls and other records related to the Route 91 shooting. Last week, the Review-Journal was awarded $243,120.37 in legal fees for the public records case.

The Review-Journal was awarded a total of $85,512.95 in 2018 and 2020 installments as reimbursement for its efforts to secure the reports.

Both a District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court ordered the Clark County School District in 2018 to release records pertaining to former Trustee Kevin Child. The newspaper received $204,309.77 in attorney fee reimbursements on that case.

Another case against the coroner’s office, which refused to release the autopsy records related to the deaths of children who the Review-Journal discovered had been abused for years, was also decided in the newspaper’s favor in both District Court and the state Supreme Court.

The Review-Journal was awarded $169,942 in reimbursement after the second autopsy-related case.

“When government officials refuse to follow the law and public records disputes go to court, the public loses no matter what, because the entire cost of litigation is on them,” Cook said. “Much of the costs the Review-Journal recovered were from baseless appeals by government filed only to delay a loss at the Supreme Court and an order to release records. I’m glad voters are inclined to punish elected officials whose agencies willfully withhold public records.”

Contact Rory Appleton at rappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.

Poll Crosstabs - Open Records by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Scribd