News & Commentary

Calling Governor Gina Raimondo’s two-and-a-half-month old executive order giving public bodies extra time to respond to open records requests “unwarranted and extremely damaging to the public interest,” seven media and open government organizations today called on her to immediately rescind the order.

The following statement was issued today by ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown on the Governor’s announcement and release of the “Crush Covid RI” app:

As part of a nationwide effort organized by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Rhode Island today filed an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request with state officials to obtain information about Rhode Island’s plans to address a likely, and potentially catastrophic, outbreak of COVID-19 at the ACI. The APRA request was one of dozens filed across the country by ACLU Affiliates today.

The ACLU of RI sent a letter to all RI municipal leaders reminding them of their obligation to help maintain government transparency in public meetings in accordance with Governor Raimondo’s recent Executive Order (EO), and supplemental guidance about the EO. In an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, the recently released EO suspended certain provisions of the state’s Open Meetings Act, and most public bodies have since started holding their meetings remotely. Responding to concerns raised by the ACLU of RI and Common Cause regarding the impact of the EO on government transparency, the Department of Administration (DOA) released important follow-up guidance outlining a number of steps that public bodies should take when conducting meetings remotely. The ACLU of RI letter urged city and town leaders in RI to ensure that their municipalities’ public bodies are aware of, and conforming to, the new standards for transparency set forth by the EO and the Guidance, including: Holding remote meetings only if they are necessary for continued government operations, requiring audio and/or video coverage of the meetings and suspending meetings when that coverage is interrupted, having meeting attendees identify themselves prior to speaking, and, where possible, posting on the public body’s website in advance any documents to be presented at the meeting. The letter concluded by acknowledging the need for some flexibility in governance during this difficult period, but noted that “the public's right to oversee the work of its government officials and municipal bodies remains more critical than ever.” The ACLU sent the letter with the goal of helping to prevent any unintended violations of the EO and Guidance by public bodies.

Stating that "[g]overnment transparency and support of the public’s right to know are more, not less, critical during emergency situations," the ACLU of RI and Common Cause RI have urged Governor Gina Raimondo to revise an executive order she issued this week that suspends certain provisions of the state's open meetings and public records laws. In  a detailed letter sent to the Governor, the two organizations recognized a need to relax some provisions of those laws, but said that the Order did not sufficiently protect the public's interests in government transparency.

Calling it a “flagrant breach” of the state’s Access to Public Records Act, the ACLU of Rhode Island has today filed with the Attorney General a complaint against the Narragansett Police Department for refusing to release any copies of its final investigations of complaints of police misconduct.  The complaint was filed by ACLU of RI cooperating attorney James Cullen on behalf of Dimitri Lyssikatos, a member of the Rhode Island Accountability Project.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has issued the following statement in response to the R.I. Supreme Court's decision today ruling that records of the grand jury's investigation of the 38 Studios debacle cannot be released:

The 2019 Top 10. A completely unexhaustive list of (some of) the most absurd civil liberties violations we encountered this year. 

The ACLU of Rhode Island today announced the favorable settlement of a federal lawsuit filed last year on behalf of North Smithfield resident Jason Richer, challenging the police department’s refusal to remove from its files a note falsely claiming that he was “dangerous,” “psychologically unstable,” and had numerous weapons at his house. Since the purpose of such notes is to alert police officers of possible dangers when they interact with individuals, the suit raised concerns that it “increase[d] the possibility that a police officer, believing Mr. Richer to be psychologically unstable . . . and heavily armed, may overreact” if they were called to his house, or otherwise interacted with him, for any reason.