ESTÚPIDO SAVANNAH - Monday, January 26, 2009 6:56:11 AM
Okay, I officially suck.
It’s been what...? 10 days since I even thought about this site, longer since I wrote anything.
I’ve been lazy and busy but mainly lazy and uninspired cause the stuff I would normally get all fired up over doesn’t seem to be getting anyone else fired up.
Case in point, Darth Berkow’s Ministry of Truth has already won the battle to keep the initial police reports under wraps.
You can tell this by the half-hearted way members of city council asked him about it at their “Come to Judas” meeting.
Jeff Felser was the only one who brought it up specifically, “We should have at least gotten a briefing from our own city legal staff.” He whined.
Of course that was expertly brushed aside by Reichsführer Berkow who also happens to be a lawyer; he claims state law “…does not require us to ‘generate’ this report”.
That is the basis for his argument, the clause in state law that states:
(d) No public officer or agency shall be required to prepare reports, summaries, or compilations not in existence of the time of the request.
Unfortunately for Berkow’s case, the initial crime reports in question are generated and compiled into a master file each and every day which according to the law:
…shall be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of this state at a reasonable time and place; and those in charge of such records shall not refuse this privilege to any citizen.
Berkow is wrong but he is still winning this battle because the SMN is rolling over and presenting its neck.
The paper is making noise about state mediation and did a couple of articles trying to explain to the public why we should be upset by this but it is just so much hot air.
This battle needs to be waged in the state legislature and in a courtroom.
Left to his own devices Berkow will define how other agencies around the state view and execute the law and the Savannah Morning News is the only player with the resources to defend the public’s right to know.
We’re doomed.
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