For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 52

A Six-Year Struggle Makes
It Easier to Obtain Law
Enforcement Records with the
Right-To-Know Law
Andrew Christy
S
ix years ago, the ACLU of Pennsylvania submitted a
Right-to-Know Law ( " RTKL " ) request to the Pennsylvania
State Police, asking for a copy of the administrative
policy that governs how that agency monitors the public's
social media accounts. Following two victories in the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the State Police finally released
the policy. While such a prolonged period of litigation
demonstrates the limits of using the RTKL for timely access
to law enforcement records, the result of the litigation and
the decisions by the Supreme Court should make it easier to
obtain law enforcement policies moving forward.
This article explains the decisions in ACLU of Pennsylvania
v. Pennsylvania State Police and the ways in which the
Supreme Court rebuffed lower court rulings that gave
undue deference to law enforcement attempts to shield
public information from disclosure.1
In walking through
the procedural background and decisions along the way, it
52 For The Defense l Vol. 8, Issue 4
also offers practical advice on how to prevail under similar
circumstances and effectively rebut the reflexive refrain from
law enforcement agencies that public safety will always
suffer from any disclosure of their activities or policies. To the
contrary, as the Supreme Court recognized, the legislature
chose to treat law enforcement as no different than other
government agencies under the RTKL: if they fail to justify
withholding a document, then it must be released.
The Initial Request and OOR Victory
This litigation began with a simple request from the
ACLU to the State Police for a copy of policy AR 6-9, which
a prior RTKL request showed is its internal administrative
policy governing how the State Police monitors social media
accounts. Although the State Police provided a copy of the
policy, the agency redacted it almost entirely, leaving only a
few innocuous paragraphs and section headings visible.

For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4

Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 1
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 2
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 4
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 5
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 6
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 7
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 8
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 9
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 10
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 11
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 12
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 13
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 14
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 15
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 16
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 17
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 18
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 19
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 20
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 21
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 22
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 23
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 24
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 25
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 26
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 27
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 28
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 29
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 30
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 31
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 32
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 33
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 34
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 35
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 36
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 37
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 38
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 39
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 40
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 41
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 42
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 43
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 44
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 45
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 46
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 47
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 48
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 49
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 50
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 51
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 52
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 53
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 54
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 55
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 56
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 57
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 4 - 58
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol9_issue4_2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol9_issue3_2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol9_issue2_2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol9_issue1_2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue4_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue3_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue2_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol8_issue1_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue4_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue3_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue2_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol7_issue1_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue4_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue3_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue2_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol6_issue1_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue4_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue3_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue2_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol5_issue1_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue4_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue3_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue2_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol4_issue1_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue4_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue3_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue2_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol3_issue1_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue4_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue3_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue2_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pacdl/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol2_issue1_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue4_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue3_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue2_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/PACDL/FORTHEDEFENSE_vol1_issue1_2016
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com