scholarly journals Eliminating a Barrier to Access: Waiving or Reducing Fees for Public Records in Florida

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-22
Author(s):  
Virginia Hamrick
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Minimal Effect ◽  
Public Records ◽  
The Public ◽  
Special Service ◽  
Right Of Access ◽  
Affect State ◽  
Made In

Florida, the Sunshine State, is one of the few states that includes a right of access to public records in its constitution. While Florida guarantees a right of access to every person, special service charges and high costs for public records restrict access to only requestors with the financial resources to pay for requests. Some agencies assert that waiving fees for requests that have a public interest would be significantly costly. This article builds on research showing that a fee waiver for requests made in the public interest would have minimal effect on Florida municipalities. This article analyzes agency public records logs to assess how a fee waiver for requests made for noncommercial purposes and in the public interest would affect state agencies. This article finds that only 14% of requests reviewed would be entitled to a fee waiver.

Introduction: Patchwork Leviathans

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Erin Metz McDonnell
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Weak State ◽  
Empirical Observation ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Stereotypical Image ◽  
Internal Variation

This introductory chapter goes beyond the stereotypical image of dysfunctional public service to argue that many seemingly weak state “leviathans” are instead patchworked. What this means is that they are cobbled together from scarce available resources. They have a wide range of internal variation in organizational capacities sewn loosely together into the semblance of unity. The chapter thus reveals a striking empirical observation with theoretical implications for how to conceptualize states and state capacity: amid general organizational weakness and neopatrimonial politics, there are a few spectacularly effective state agencies dedicating their full working capacity to the routine satisfaction of organizational goals in the public interest. These are the subcultural niches of the bureaucratic ethos that manage to thrive against impressive odds.

scholarly journals Does implicit healthcare rationing impose an unfair legal burden on doctors? A study of Portuguese jurisprudence

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-57
Author(s):  
Eva Dias Costa ◽  
Micaela Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Public Records ◽  
The Public ◽  
Heavy Burden ◽  
Healthcare Rationing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Made In

Healthcare rationing is inevitable, never more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Portugal, rationing is largely implicit and relies too much on bedside decisions, made in stressful circumstances, involving ethical dilemmas and being prone to error. This study uses a qualitative approach by exploring the public records of Portuguese courts for malpractice suits between the years of 2008 and 2019 to ascertain whether the damage suffered by patients in these cases could in any part be attributed to a lack of resources. During this research, we found that a large number of lawsuits against doctors and hospitals might have in fact been the unfortunate result of the constraints of implicit prioritization. We concluded that lawyers and judges must be made aware of the impact of implicit rationing decisions on healthcare professionals, who are judged against a professional standard and an inverse onus rule that places on them a heavy burden of proof.

Killing ‘Gnats with a Sledgehammer’? Case Study: Fairness Doctrine and a Broadcast License Denial

1991 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 805-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Gleason
Keyword(s):  
First Amendment ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Washington State ◽  
The Public ◽  
Made In ◽  
Fairness Doctrine

Each year since the FCC rescinded the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, efforts have been made in Congress to restore it. This indepth look at the denial of a license to Washington state religious station KAYE, which broadcast very strong conservative views, attempts to balance the public interest in diversity with concerns about fairness. This study demonstrates how citizen “watchdog” groups used the Fairness Doctrine to rid the airwaves of a broadcaster and highlights inherent conflicts in First Amendment theory.

scholarly journals Protocol for systematic review of ethical declarations made in clinical publications concerning COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia O'Sullivan ◽  
Ronan P. Killeen ◽  
Peter Doran ◽  
Rachel K. Crowley
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Medical Literature ◽  
Ethics Committee ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Short Timeframe ◽  
Made In

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus, designated SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible for a global pandemic in 2020. Public interest in this disease has led to the publication of thousands of articles in the medical literature in a very short timeframe. It is imperative that medical research into COVID-19 is conducted quickly and safely, and that due reference is given to the ethical considerations enshrined in the ICH GCP guidelines, according to the Declaration of Helsinki. In order to review the reporting of ethical considerations in these papers, we hereby propose a protocol for a systematic review of COVID-19 papers up to April 14th 2020. The search criteria proposed for the review are based upon what would be a reasonable search conducted by a lay member of the public with access to PubMed.gov. It is proposed to publish the findings of the review with a summary of the institutional Research Ethics Committee response to the challenges of reviewing and approving clinical research proposals in the time of a pandemic.

scholarly journals Access to legal records by children leaving State care: The experience of young people in NSW

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Greenwood ◽  
Julia Mansour ◽  
Celia Winnett
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
New South ◽  
Community Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Past Wrongs ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Made In

For those who have been in the care of the State as children, access to records can be critical to securing justice and redress for past wrongs. This article outlines the arguments made in recent litigation undertaken by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) on behalf of young people who requested access to legal audits conducted on their files by the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Family and Community Services (FACS). It documents the policy change that was achieved as a result of the litigation and makes recommendations for further reform to better realise the rights of children in care to access their records.

Local Response to Forced Adaptation Challenges: Lessons from a Post-flooding School Rebuilding Controversy

2021 ◽  
pp. 193672442110034
Author(s):  
Christopher Plein
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Community Identity ◽  
Rural County ◽  
Public Records ◽  
The Public ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Power And Powerlessness ◽  
Made In

This study focuses on school rebuilding experiences in a distressed rural county in the wake of severe flooding. While considering scholarly literature, and making use of relevant public records and media coverage, the centerpiece of this qualitative study is an analysis of 391 public comments made in response to proposed rebuilding plans. The study focuses on how the schools rebuilding debate was socially constructed in response to the flood and in a time of growing awareness of climate change. The findings suggest that the debate was framed along lines familiar to rural school closure and consolidation controversies in general and in context of underlying political and social conditions specific to the county. Themes of power and powerlessness, fairness and justice, and community identity and viability were predominant. Specific discussion of climate change and associated themes was notably absent in the public comments. The findings suggest that existing sociopolitical context and policy domains may shape the consideration of new adaptation choices, whether forced by immediate events such as a natural disaster, or influenced by longer term concerns relating to climate change.

scholarly journals ALTERNATIF PENYELESAIAN SENGKETA BISNIS DI LUAR PENGADILAN

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 277
Author(s):  
Nevey Varida Ariani
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Expert Opinion ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fair Process ◽  
Court Process

<p>Alterna Ɵ f sengketa di Luar pengadilan saat ini menjadi alterna Ɵ f bagi kalangan bisnis untuk dapat menyelesaikan sengketa bisnis diluar pengadilan hal ini disebabkan karena penyelesian melalui proses pengadilan, dianggap mengalami beban yang terlampau padat ( overloaded ), Lamban dan buang waktu ( waste of Ɵ me ), Biaya mahal ( very expensive ) dan kurang tanggap (unresponsive ) terhadap kepen Ɵ ngan umum atau dianggap terlampau formalis Ɵ k ( formalis Ɵ c ) dan terlampau teknis ( technically ). Dengan penyelesaian sengketa berdasarkan undang-undang melalui arbitrase dan alterna Ɵ f penyelesaian sengketa di luar pengadilan melalui mekanisme konsiliasi, mediasi, negosiasi dan pendapat ahli serta penyelesaian sengketa menurut masyarakat adat dapat mencerminkan proses penyelesian sengketa secara adil karena diharapkan dapat menggali nilai-nilai yang hidup dalam masayarakat secara cepat, biaya ringan, damai dengan win-win solu Ɵ on bukan win lose solu Ɵ on. Oleh karena itu perlu lembaga-lembaga alterna Ɵ f penyelesian sengketa terutama dalam hal pelaksanaan eksekusi</p><p>Today alterna Ɵ ve dispute resulu Ɵ on non li Ɵ ga Ɵ on to be an alterna Ɵ ve for businesses to be able to resolve disputes resolu Ɵ on business and this is because through the court process, is considered to have the burden which overloaded, Slow and waste of Ɵ me, very expensive and unresponsive to the public interest, formalis Ɵ c and technically. Alterna Ɵ ve dispute Resolu Ɵ on with statutory arbitra Ɵ on and alterna Ɵ ve dispute resolu Ɵ on mechanisms outside the court through concilia Ɵ on, media Ɵ on, nego Ɵ a Ɵ on and dispute resolu Ɵ on expert opinion and according to the indigenous peoples may re fl ect disputes resolu Ɵ on in a fair process because it is expected to explore the values that live in society as a fast, low cost, peace with the win-win solu Ɵ on rather than lose win solu Ɵ on. Therefore, the courts and state agencies need to respect and protect the decisions issued by the ins Ɵ tu Ɵ ons of alterna Ɵ ve dispute resolu Ɵ on, especially in terms of execu Ɵ on.</p>

scholarly journals Is there a public interest in knowing what is going on in society? A comparative study of the European Courts

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 691-712
Author(s):  
Maija Dahlberg ◽  
Daniel Wyatt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Official Document ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Court ◽  
Fundamental Reason ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access

Both of the European courts, namely the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, have well-established case law on the public’s right of access to official documents. The core of the right is the same in both of the courts’ jurisdictions but the interpretations concerning the breadth of the right are very different. One fundamental reason for the public’s right of access to information being understood differently by each of these courts is their divergent approaches to the assessment of the public interest associated with an individual’s request for information. While the ECtHR openly evaluates the public interest or interests involved in the disclosure of an official document, the CJEU gives this factor little or no weight. In this article, our main argument is that CJEU should follow the ECtHR’s interpretation of the public interest in order to give the right of access to documents the same scope in both legal regimes and, in doing so, fulfil the requirements stemming from Article 52(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The Commercial Speech Doctrine in Health Regulation: The Clash between the Public Interest in a Robust First Amendment and the Public Interest in Effective Protection from Harm

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 299-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Orentlicher
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Bodily Integrity ◽  
Effective Protection ◽  
The Public ◽  
Commercial Speech ◽  
Court Of Appeals ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
Right Of Access

Historically, government has been given more leeway when invoking its interests in safeguarding the public health than when asserting other state interests. Thus, for example, when considering a constitutional challenge to mandatory smallpox immunization in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the Supreme Court employed its highly deferential, rational basis review rather than the stricter level of scrutiny that it normally employs when individuals assert interests in bodily integrity. Similarly, Congress and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have imposed greater restrictions on the speech of pharmaceutical companies than have been considered acceptable for speech in other commercial settings.In recent years, however, it appears that a trend is developing toward applying the same level of constitutional scrutiny to health regulation. In Abigail Alliance, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overrode FDA regulations to recognize a constitutional right of access for patients to experimental chemotherapy.

Whistleblowing in Kuwait and UK against corruption and misconduct

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1020-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal Al-Haidar
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Private Enterprise ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Made In

Purpose This paper aims to explore the nature and the scope of whistleblowing in Kuwait and in the UK. Whistleblowing is when a person, usually an employee, in a government agency or private enterprise, discloses information to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption or other wrongdoing. Due to the unpredictable consequences of whistleblowing, it is probable that many employees who witness wrongdoing do not consider blowing the whistle, because they fear the impact of such action on their relationship with their employers. Design/methodology/approach The author evaluated the whistleblowing systems in different countries. He first tackled the nature of whistleblowing in general, proceeded to analyse whistleblowing in Kuwait with mentions from other countries and finally evaluated the whistleblowing process in the UK. Findings The whistleblowing situation in the UK is clearer than that in Kuwait. Recent improvements have been made in the UK to protect whistleblowers. In the UK, the whistleblowing law under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 came into force in July 1999 to protect whistleblowers. Kuwait also has had some improvements, which were seen to offer legal protection for those raising concerns about corruption under Law no. 24 of 2012. However, the author recommends that the Kuwaiti Government should give more protection to whistleblowers, and there is a need to protect the whistleblowers. Originality/value Potential whistleblowers might feel discouraged from disclosing information against their organisation, fearing a backlash against them. This is where the law and the rights of employees must be clarified. This paper will, therefore, evaluate the system of whistleblowing in the UK under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and examine this against the whistleblowing law in Kuwait under the Whistleblowing Act no. 24 of 2012.

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