Journalists investigating Adult Protective Services
So is a news reporter doing “bona fide research?”
Maybe, according to a new ruling by the state Court of Appeals. And the three-judge panel sent the case back to a trial judge to answer that specific question.
Hanging in the balance in this specific case is the ability of reporters to get information to share with the public about the Department of Economic Security and how good a job – or not – it is doing in handling its statutory duty to investigate complaints of abuse and neglect against vulnerable adults.
That, in turn, could open the door for further reporting of the series by KJZZ and the Arizona Daily Star about how physical and sexual abuse and neglect against people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can occur anywhere – and that often nothing is done about it.
But the ultimate outcome of the case could determine whether government agencies can use laws designed to protect the privacy of some individuals to create exceptions from broad state statutes that generally make government records a matter of public concern.
The case involves an investigation by the two media outlets of Adult Protective Services, a division of DES. That division, as part of its work, gathers relevant documents and creates reports documenting progress.
Appellate Judge Brian Furuya, writing for the court, acknowledged that Arizona law says government records are presumed public. He said, though, there is a specific carve-out here for Adult Protective Services “because of the sensitive nature of these records.
