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The state-of-the-art in what is best for children of divorce. Every parent, judge and family law attorney must view this video to save their children from the ravages of divorce. Click Here to Learn More.

 
 
Freedom of Information Act - Massachusetts
 
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/foi.html
 
Freedom of Information/Open Meeting
 
Mass. Trial Court Law Libraries > Law by Subject > Pathfinders > Freedom of Information
 
A Guide to Selected Sources on Freedom of Information and Open Meeting Laws in Massachusetts
 
Pathfinder in Word format: foi.doc
 
MASSACHUSETTS STATUTES:
Definition of Public Record
Criminal Offender Record Information System
Meetings of Governmental Bodies
Open Meeting Law
Public Records
Fair Information Practices Act

MASSACHUSETTS REGULATIONS:
803 CMR
Criminal History Systems Board
Fair Information Practices Act
Public Records Access Regulations
950 CMR 33.00
Information Practices Regulations

FEDERAL STATUTES:
Freedom of Information Act
 

SELECTIVE CASE LAW:
 
District Attorney for the Plymouth District v. Board of Selectmen of Middleborough, 395 Mass. 629, 481 NE2d 1128 (1985) The Board could not hold executive sessions for purposes other than those enumerated in MGL chapter 39, sec. 29B.
General Electric Co. v. Department of Environmental Protection, 429 Mass. 798, 711 NE2d 589 (1999) Materials privileged as work product are not protected from disclosure under the public records statute, unless they fall within the scope of an express statutory exemption.
 
Hull Municipal Lighting Plant v. Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., 414 Mass. 609, 609 NE2d 460 (1993) Public records are broadly defined and include all documentary materials made or received by an officer or employee of any corporation or public entity of the Commonwealth unless one of the nine statutory exemptions is applicable.
Peckham v. Boston Herald, Inc., 48 Mass. App. Ct. 282, 719 NE2d 888 (1999) Judicial records are not within the law's definition of "public records," and so that law's privacy exemption did not apply in an invasion of privacy suit arising from a newspaper's reporting on a paternity action.
 
SECONDARY SOURCES:
 
Freedom of Information Act, Public Records and Privacy Issues, MCLE, 2000.
 
Freedom of Information in Massachusetts, by William H. Abrashkin, Auburn House, 1989.
 
Getting the Records that Really Count, by Paul R. Keane, et al., MCLE, 1993.
 
A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Public Records Division, 1998. Also available online at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf
 
Guidebook to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts, 2d ed., Justin D. Franklin and Robert F. Bouchard, editors, West Group, loose-leaf.
 
Massachusetts Practice, vol. 18 (Municipal Law) West Group, 1993 with supplement, chapter 8; vol. 39 (Administrative Law and Practice) West Group, 1986 with supplement, chapters 16 and 18.
 
State Freedom of Information Act, by Joanne D'Alcomo et al., MCLE, 1993.
 
"State Freedom of Information Act Requests: Right to Receive Information in Particular Medium or Format," 86 ALR4th 786.
 
"Validity, Construction and Application of Statutes Making Public Proceedings Open to the Public," 38 ALR3d 1070.
 
ARTICLES:
 
"Massachusetts Open Meeting Law: An Historical Overview and Contemporary Analysis," 25 New England Law Review 257 (1990).
"Massachusetts Public Records Law: Common Issues for the Municipal Practitioner," 37 Boston Bar Journal 15 (May-June 1993).
"Open Meeting Law," 28 Annual Survey of Massachusetts Law 192 (1981).
 
 
Massachusetts Secretary of State Public Records Division
1 Ashburton Place, Room 1719
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-2832
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
1815 N. Ft. Myer Drive, Suite 900
Arlington, VA 22209
(800) 336-4243
Freedom of Information Services. Tons of advice and information, including a "Fully-Automated Fill-in-the-Blanks FOI Letter Generator," for use by both the press and public.
 
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Trial Court Law Libraries. Last update: January 11, 2006.  Privacy Policy. Questions, comments or corrections on this website? Contact webperson. Questions about legal information? Ask a Librarian