The Indiana Publisher

Page 8 April 14, 2016 P olice beat reporters need to fully utilize the Access to Public Records Act to monitor law enforcement activity. Most editors and reporters are familiar with the require- ment that police agencies provide a daily log or report that lists suspected crimes, accidents or complaints, but that's only part of Indiana Code 5-14-3-5, which sets out information that must be made available to the pub- lic. The daily log provision is found at 5(c). Reporters should also be familiar with 5(a) and 5(b) and routinely rely upon it in covering state or local police departments. Paragraph (a) outlines what must be available if a person is arrested or summoned for an offense. That information should include: • Name, age, and address of the individual. • Charges on which the arrest or summons is based. • Circumstances surround- ing the arrest/summons, such as time and location, inves- tigating or arresting officer (unless it's an undercover offi- cer) and the law enforcement agency involved in the arrest or investigation. Newspapers may need to rely on this requirement when questions arise concerning the use of force in an arrest. "Circumstances" should include which officer(s) fired weapons in a police-action shooting. It's also handy to check this information to learn what prominent citizen may have received a traffic sum- mons. Or checking the number of traffic tickets and when in the month they occur might show a pattern indicating that there's a quota expected of patrol officers. I recall years ago that a state police officer told me whichever patrolman issued the fewest tickets in a month might get stuck with more desk duty the next month. Paragraph (b) outlines what information is available to the public when someone has been jailed or moved into a detention facility. That infor- mation includes: • Name, age and address of the person (this includes juveniles). • Reason for the person being placed in jail or lock- up and name of the person on whose order the person is being held. • Time and date the person arrived and time and date the person was discharged or transferred. • Amount of person's bail or bond, if it has been set. Indiana doesn't believe peo- ple should be secretly jailed, so anyone has the right to this information. Regularly checking this information will lead to sto- ries that might not surface on the police dispatch log that the reporter routinely exam- ines. That's because some crime reports don't come in through 911. For example, a business suspecting an employee has been skimming money from the operation will more likely call a non-emergency number and ask for a detec- tive. This is also where you may discover the arrest of some- one charged with a crime in another state. Work with your sheriff, chief or marshal to make sure all the information required under IC 5-14-3-5 is available for inspection. If you're not routinely ask- ing for it, law enforcement could fall into the habit of not offering it. Then it can be an abrupt jolt for them if a reporter does request the information. Steve Key is executive director and general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association. Contact him at skey@hspa.com. Key Points Steve Key Know the law to get police records Appellate court briefs available for download So you think you know Indiana? Layouts provided! Your staff can just place it on the page. Text and photos supplied if you prefer local layouts. Mark Indiana's bicentennial in your newspaper with a free 15-part series from NIE Foundation Download materials at www.HSPA foundation.org I ndiana appellate courts will make briefs filed in non-confiden- tial appeals available online. Based on recommendations from a task force that includes HSPA, the Indiana Supreme Court authorized certain briefs filed on or after April 1 to be available to the public online at MyCase.in.gov. Briefs are legal arguments written by each side of a disputed matter. Appellate judges review briefs as part of their decision-making pro- cess. Briefs in non-confidential cases are currently available to the public through the Appellate Clerk for in- person inspection or electronically for a fee. Briefs are not available in confidential case types (for example, mental health or juvenile termina- tion of parental rights). The online free access is being announced after recommendations from a task force on remote access to and privacy of electronic court records. The task force recommended stan- dards for online publication. The Court considered the recommenda- tions and unanimously approved the following: • Only briefs written by attorneys will be posted online, due to attor- neys' ethical requirements to follow court record confidentiality rules. • Briefs written by nonlawyers will not be posted online at this time. • Appendices will not be posted online. • Briefs filed after April 1 will be available; archived briefs will not be online. The 21-member task force was cre- ated in February to study best prac- tices and policies on Internet access to electronic court records. It is chaired by Chief Justice Loretta Rush and includes members of the Indiana judicial and legisla- tive branches as well as media and legal educators, including Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel. Scholarship winners The HSPA Foundation awarded college scholar- ships to two Indiana high school seniors involved in student-journalism. Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, presented the awards at the recent First Amendment Symposium at the Indiana Statehouse. PHOTOS BY CLARK HADLEY, INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL PRESS ASSOCIATION Above: Scholarship winner Lydia Gerike of Portage High School was also named the 2016 Indiana Student Journalist of the Year by the Indiana High School Press Association. She will study at either Indiana University as an Ernie Pyle Scholar or at American University in Washington, D.C. Right: Scholarship winner Emily Rasmussen of Ben Davis High School will attend IUPUI.

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