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Full-Text Articles in Law
Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. V. State: Balancing The Public's Right To Know Against The Privacy Rights Of Victims Of Sexual Abuse, Kenleigh A. Nicoletta
Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. V. State: Balancing The Public's Right To Know Against The Privacy Rights Of Victims Of Sexual Abuse, Kenleigh A. Nicoletta
Maine Law Review
In Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. v. State, a sharply divided Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, held that release of records relating to Attorney General G. Steven Rowe's investigation of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests was warranted under Maine's Freedom of Access Act (FOAA). Although such investigative records are designated confidential by statute, the majority held that the public's interest in the contents of the records mandated their disclosure after all information identifying persons other than the deceased priests had been redacted. The concurrence asserted that the majority had reached the correct conclusion, but in so …
Judicial Performance And Policy Implications In Moore V. Abbott, Andrew C. Helman
Judicial Performance And Policy Implications In Moore V. Abbott, Andrew C. Helman
Maine Law Review
In Moore v. Abbott, a divided Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, held that a three-member panel organized by the Attorney General to investigate alleged misconduct by prosecutors and law enforcement officers did not constitute an "agency" or "public official" under Maine's Freedom of Access Act (FOAA). Therefore, the panel did not have to release records compiled during its review of the investigation and prosecution of Dennis Dechaine, who was convicted for the 1988 murder of Sarah Cherry. Justice Alexander, writing for the majority, applied a four-part test looking to whether the panel was the functional equivalent …