FOIA

by P.D. Lesko In the space of just a few weeks, the Washtenaw County Trial Court has been asked repeatedly by attorneys to sanction The Ann Arbor Independent for the publication of two investigative articles. In the latest instance,…

NOTE: This reporting was made possible by the Ann Arbor Independent's FOIA Fund. Donate today! by P.D. Lesko In March 2024, the Ann Arbor Independent made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Washtenaw County for the…

by P.D. Lesko On Nov. 21, 2024 the Ann Arbor Independent filed suit in the Washtenaw County 22nd Circuit Court against Supreme Felons, Inc. In Sept. of 2024, the newspaper submitted two Freedom of Information Act requests to Supreme…

by P.D. Lesko In June 2024, using money donated by readers to the Ann Arbor Independent's FOIA Fund, the newspaper filed suit in the Washtenaw County Trial Court to compel Washtenaw County to release Sheriff's Deputy D'Angelo…

by P.D. Lesko Supreme Felons is not a public body and was therefore not subject to the FOIA pursuant to OAG, 1989-1990, No 6563, p 27 (January 26, 1989).--Billy Cole, President, Supreme Felons, Inc., in an email to The Ann Arbor…

by P.D. Lesko On Sept. 18, 2024 Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Julia B. Owdziej ruled against a Motion for Summary Disposition filed by the law firm of Miller Johnson, retained by Washtenaw County to defend against the A2Indy's…

Note: The A2Indy FOIA Fund has taken in over $40,000 in 2024. The newspaper uses this fund to pay to obtain public records. This is the newspaper's first lawsuit against Washtenaw County for refusing to turn over public records. On…

by P.D. Lesko AAPS trustees are presently embroiled in a public debate about, among other issues, whether members should be forbidden from communicating with each other electronically during open meetings. Seriously? D'uh. The Michigan…

by P.D. Lesko The Ann Arbor Charter states that, like the County, Ann Arbor shall employ a single City Attorney. There are, at present, a dozen attorneys employed by the City, plus numerous contract attorneys. Four of those twelve…

by P.D. Lesko R. Bruce Laidlaw, the Ann Arbor City Attorney between 1978 and 1991 and an Assistant City Attorney for six years before that, sent an email on Feb. 25 to Ann Arbor’s Mayor Chris Taylor, City Attorney Stephen Postema and…