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Public Duties, Private Rights: Privacy And Unsubstantiated Allegations In Washington’S Public Records Act, Robert E. Miller
Public Duties, Private Rights: Privacy And Unsubstantiated Allegations In Washington’S Public Records Act, Robert E. Miller
Seattle University Law Review
Open government laws allow private citizens to monitor public servants. But this vital function of access presents a clash of competing interests: the privacy of public employees versus the public’s right to know. Washington’s Public Records Act (PRA) seeks to balance these interests, and the Washington Supreme Court has fought to adhere to the PRA’s spirit of open government while creating bright-line rules for the ease of government agencies. The Bainbridge Island Police Guild court held that investigative reports of unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct against public officials are highly offensive to a reasonable person and that the public has …