FREEDOM OF ACCESS ASSIGNMENT (HYPOTHETICAL CASE)

You are Bruce and you are a government employee working for the Department of Transpostation. Your job is to review applications that people have filled out to apply for a permit to put in a driveway to their homes via a curb-cut.(The curb of the street is cut out so that a driveway connects to the street.) You decide if the person gets approved for the permit. If the person is not approved for the permit, then the person must wait for eight years until applying again. So the decision to grant the license is very important and you have tremendous authority.

If you approve the permit you enter the name and notes about the application in an excel electronic spreadsheet.At the end of the day, you give the printed-out spreadsheet to Christopher, your supervisor.Christopher makes the final decision whether to grant the permit and calls another employee, Gordon on the phone to tell Gordon to send the approval card to the applicant.Once the applicant gets the card, the curb-cut can be done.

One day, you see an application from a person named Maggie whom you know. You approve Maggie's application and enter the name, ID number and in the comments column you write "chronically depressedsubstance abuse issues--on methadone." You give the spreadsheet to Christopher who calls Gordon and says that Maggie is a former sister-in-law and rotten to the core and doesn't deserve a permit--don't send an approval card.So, Gordon doesn't send Maggie an approval card. Instead, Gordon writes on a post-it "Christopher said Maggie's rotten" puts the post-in on the file folder, and then Gordon sends Maggie a letter saying the application has been denied.

Maggie gets the letter in the mail and calls the Bangor Deadly newspaper.Maggie tells the reporter that the permit was denied and thinks that something is fishy; would the reporter investigate?Maggie signs a legal release giving the reporter the authority to gather and read all of the records at the Department of Transpostation.

The reporter contacts the Department and is told by the receptionist Pearl that all information is confidential, and the information can't be released even though the reporter has a signed and notarized consent form.The reporter files a Freedom of Access Act request. On October 1^st, the newspaper reporter goes to the office and hands the following request to Pearl.

October 1, 2020

Dear Department:

I want all of the records you have on me.And I want you to give them to the newspaper.Here is my consent form.

Signed, Maggie

On October 16^th, Pearl sends you, Bruce, an email saying, "This really angry reporter was here demanding Maggie's records.You need to respond to this."

The assignment is to answer the following questions.

1.Is the newspaper and Maggie's request sufficient enough to be a Freedom of Access request?

2.Do of the following "documents" in this scenario meet the definition of public record: a. Would you have to turn over the spreadsheet?b. Would you have to release the comments about the methadone treatment? c. Would you have to turn over Gordon's Post-it note?

3.What about the telephone call between Christopher and Gordon?Would Christopher and Gordon have to write it down based on memory and give it to Maggie and the reporter?

4.What did Pearl do wrong?

5.If you decided to tell the reporter that you're not turning over any of the documents, what you do think your chances would be in court?Would the judge take a careful look at this case?

6.If you were advising the agency about how to meet procedures under the FOAA, what would be your advice?

ASSIGNMENT:Your answers should specifically cite and refer to sections of the FOAA to justify your argument.Each question should have at least a paragraph for the response.