Court Rules Against Potter Leader Enterprise
1 min readIncident reports filed by Pennsylvania state troopers do not have to be released to the public, according to today’s ruling by the Commonwealth Court.
The 6-1 majority ruling said the forms are covered by an exception to the Right-to-Know Law that allows agencies to withhold criminal investigative records.
The case involves a February 2009 request by the Potter Leader-Enterprise for a complete incident report about a fight in Potter County. The court found that the incident report did not amount to a police blotter, which are public record, and therefore did not have to be released.
Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer wrote, “The incident report is not a chronological listing of arrests. Rather, it is a description of an investigation by the PSP into a complaint of criminal activity.”
Office of Open Records Director Terry Mutchler says she is reviewing the decision to decide whether to appeal.
Read more: http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Cwealth/out/741CD09_9-16-10.pdf
