Fired Prof Shouldn’t Need My Help to Get Public Records

The Goldwater Institute’s American Freedom Network (AFN) of pro bono attorneys work closely with the Institute on cases and projects that advance liberty around the country, on matters ranging from free speech to taxpayer rights to government transparency. As part of Goldwater’s pro bono network, participating attorneys will have the opportunity to work on issues that interest them, litigating meaningful cases in a way that makes sense for their practice. The following is a testimonial from AFN attorney Michael Bloom, who helped a fired University of Arizona professor obtain the answers he deserves after the school stonewalled him for months:

Dan Grossenbach filed a public records request with the University of Arizona on November 30, 2023. More than six months later, Mr. Grossenbach still did not have the materials he requested. He found me as a member of the Goldwater Institute’s American Freedom Network of pro bono attorneys. I wrote to the university and demanded that officials turn over the public records that Mr. Grossenbach had requested pursuant to the Arizona public records laws. They were, finally, disclosed to Mr. Grossenbach.

It should not take months of delays and the intervention of an attorney to access information that is rightfully due to citizens. Under Arizona law, a public entity is required to “promptly” respond to any request for production. A.R.S. § 39-121.01:

E. Access to a public record is deemed denied if a custodian fails to promptly respond to a request for production of a public record or fails to provide to the requesting person an index of any record or categories of records that are withheld from production …

Arizona courts have found that delays of 108 days, 141 days and 49 days, were not justified, and violated the public entities’ responsibility to respond to public records requests promptly. See, e.g., Phoenix New Times LLC v. Arpaio, (Div. 1, 2008).

In this case, I sent the university a demand letter reminding officials of their obligation to produce the records, and within two weeks, they complied, finally sending the emails to my client after their six-month delay. Citizens deserve better than months of stonewalling before they can access the information they are entitled to. I was proud to assist Mr. Grossenbach pro bono, but for most Americans, their only recourse is to pay a hefty fee to hire an attorney. This shouldn’t happen.

This matter highlights the importance of transparency and the role of public records laws in holding institutions accountable. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the Goldwater Institute to vindicate people’s access to public records—after all, all Americans have a right to know what their government is up to.

Michael Bloom is an attorney with the Goldwater Institute’s American Freedom Network of pro bono attorneys.

If you are interested in putting your legal skills and experience to practice in defense of liberty and would like to work on cases like this one as part of the Goldwater’s Institute’s American Freedom Network, please visit this page or contact Kamron Kompani at kkompani@goldwaterinstitute.org.