South Carolina Criminal Defense Blog

According to Renee Dudley at the Island Packet, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department is also refusing to comply with FOIA:

Incident reports -- summaries of criminal activity that occurs in Beaufort County --are being withheld from public review under a new Sheriff's Office policy that is being inconsistently applied.

When a reporter went to the Sheriff's office and asked the clerk for reports at 2:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, they refused to provide them, citing a new office policy that records would only be available during normal government office hours of 8:30 - 4:30 Monday through Friday. Despite the fact that the Sheriff's office is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, Sheriff P.J. Tanner says that they are not required to produce them on weekends:

In the past, when crime reports were accessible on weekends, Tanner said, "we were going over and above what the law requires us to do.

The absence of crime news in the media on days when reports are withheld will not leave residents uninformed about crime in the area, Tanner said.

"If there's anything that's a threat to public safety, we automatically send (a release) out," he said. "I guess you have to take our word on that."

South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act (S.C. Code Sec. 30-4-30) requires that agencies, upon written request, comply with the statute within fifteen days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. However, it also provides that incident reports must be made immediately available, without a written request, when the requestor appears in person during the hours of operation of the agency.

The sheriff's statement, "I guess you have to take our word on that," is exactly why we have FOIA - we do not have to take his word on anything and we need to be able to see what our government is doing. By refusing to provide the documents to reporters on weekends or holidays, the agency is refusing to comply with the requirements of FOIA in a way that they believe will be difficult to enforce - the reporter will get the documents eventually, although not upon demand in person as required under the statute. This doesn't insulate them from a lawsuit, however - S.C. Code sec. 30-4-100 expressly provides a cause of action for injunctive relief and the award of attorneys' fees and court costs.

(a) Any citizen of the State may apply to the circuit court for either or both a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to enforce the provisions of this chapter in appropriate cases as long as such application is made no later than one year following the date on which the alleged violation occurs or one year after a public vote in public session, whichever comes later. The court may order equitable relief as it considers appropriate, and a violation of this chapter must be considered to be an irreparable injury for which no adequate remedy at law exists.

(b) If a person or entity seeking such relief prevails, he or it may be awarded reasonable attorney fees and other costs of litigation. If such person or entity prevails in part, the court may in its discretion award him or it reasonable attorney fees or an appropriate portion thereof.

The media is on the front lines when it comes to government compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. The Beaufort County Sheriff's refusal to comply, the Charleston Police Department's release of heavily redacted documents, and other violations by different agencies across the state are an attempt to chip away at the requirements of the statute and avoid government responsibility under FOIA. Whether it is a news agency, an attorney, or a private citizen who is requesting the release of documents, when any government agency does not comply with the statute we need to file suit and hold them responsible - when the cost of non-compliance is greater than the cost of complying, government agencies will follow the requirements of the law.