More Iowa public records, open meetings cases going to court

By: 
Erin Jordan
The Gazette

     This is the second article of two to appear in The Express.

Iowa Supreme Court ruling in 2011 set precedent

   When government bodies keep information secret, Iowans seeking access may choose to file a lawsuit. But hiring a lawyer can cost thousands of dollars, deterring many Iowans.

   Not Allen Diercks. The 66-year-old Bettendorf chiropractor has been a government watchdog for decades, once filing more than 50 records requests in two years.

   “The public deserves public records,” Diercks said. “This isn’t a political thing. It’s really an American thing.”

   Diercks, represented by Bettendorf attorney Mike Meloy, won a 2011 Iowa Supreme Court case that set precedent for helping citizens recoup legal fees in public records cases.

Riverdale, a city of about 400 near Bettendorf, sued Diercks, Marie Randol and Tammie Picton in 2008 over whether the defendants were entitled to view security camera video showing then-Mayor Jeffrey Grindle arguing with Diercks over a records request.

   Diercks, Randol and Picton won the case at trial and the District Court awarded them $64,732 in attorney fees. An appellate court reversed that award, but the Iowa Supreme Court later ruled the District Court was right.

   “Statutory attorney-fee awards motivate lawyers to step up and fight city hall on behalf of residents whose elected officials refuse requests for disclosure,” Justice Thomas D. Waterman wrote in the Nov. 18, 2011, decision.

Lawsuit is last resort

   Sycamore Media, which also publishes the Bellevue Herald-Leader and the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press, has filed two lawsuits in five years pushing back on government bodies trying to keep secrets.

   “We’ve had two cases where the violations were so clear we felt obligated to pursue them to ensure transparency for the public,” Sycamore Owner and CEO Trevis Mayfield said.

   Sycamore and the Sentinel-Press in 2019 sued the Maquoketa Police Department after the agency refused to release body camera and dash camera footage of a traffic stop in which officers found then-Assistant Jackson County Attorney Amanda Lassance with bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and beer cans throughout the vehicle, court records show.

   Jackson County deputies later cited Lassance for having an open container in a vehicle and gave her a ride back near her office.

   Seventh Judicial District Judge John Telleen on June 22, 2020, ordered Maquoketa to release the videos.

   “Their squad car and body camera footage will show a portion of the incident not found in the public records already provided by the Clinton and Jackson County sheriff’s departments. This information will give the public a fuller understanding of the incident in question,” the ruling stated.

Lawsuits are a last resort, Mayfield said.

   “For the most part, we give people the benefit of the doubt, especially when you’re dealing with city councils and school boards because they are elected volunteers,” he said.

Public Information Board: Education, not punishment

   The Iowa Legislature in 2012 created the Iowa Public Information Board as a cheaper, faster way to resolve disputes over Iowa’s open records and meetings laws.

   The nine-person board that includes government officials, media and members of the public has accepted about 1,000 formal complaints in 10 years, but has only had five contested cases. The most recent was resolved in 2019.

   “If you look at the statute, it does try to prioritize informal resolutions and finding ways to resolve disputes,” said Erika Eckley, who became the board’s executive director in March. “We get farther if we try to resolve issues by training than by being a punitive body.”

   Alan Kemp, executive director of the Iowa League of Cities, said he appreciates the board’s approach. “Our smaller cities, they see a lot of turnover in city clerks, in elected officials,” he said. “Too often the people who come in have not had any chance to get any training and don’t know anything about any of the requirements.”

   Evans and Mayfield said the board seems reluctant — particularly in recent years — to investigate and prosecute knowing violations.

   “I tell journalists that if you believe you have a strong case to win access to records or meetings, you’re doing yourself a disservice by taking that case to the Public Information Board,” Evans said.

   Evans pointed to a complaint filed with the board in May 2022 over a vote in closed session to restrict access to a book in the Pleasant Valley School District. The board decided last month -- 14 months after the complaint was filed -- that while there was probable cause the book reconsideration committee violated open meetings law, because the school district held a training in June, the complaint would be dismissed.

   While a case is pending before the board, no court case may move forward.

   “The Pleasant Valley School District has been allowed by the Public Information Board to simply drag its feet for months and months,” Evans said.

   Eckley said the board recently upgraded its case management system to keep better track of cases and make sure they aren’t lingering.

More accountability sought

   Breaking Iowa’s open records or open meetings laws can result in a fine ranging from $100 to $500 or up to $2,500 for a knowing violation. But fines are rare.

   Former Washington County Attorney Larry Brock agreed in 2014 to pay a $1,000 fine after a judge decided he knowingly violated open records law by waiting more than three months to provide records to a former park ranger.

   In two other cases — one in Des Moines and one in Burlington — public officials were ordered to pay $100 and $200, respectively, for failure to comply with open records laws. Evans isn’t aware of any other fines for Chapters 21 and 22 in recent decades.

   Open government advocates want more accountability. Diercks suggested zero tolerance once public officials have signed off on taking an online course about open records and open meetings.

   “The very first offense you do after you know, you get a $1,000 fine,” he said. “The second offense you are out of office and you don’t serve. Until they start making them pay for this, it’s not going to change.”

   Mommsen said he is considering proposing a bill that would make it easier for Iowans to recall school board members.

   Part one appeared in the Aug. 23 Express.

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