Judge Sides With Gov. Kate Brown's Administration on Public Records Lawsuit
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the Portland law firm Davis Wright Tremaine cannot get a look until after the Nov. 6 election at the draft 2019 legislation it sought.
In a lawsuit filed in September in Marion County Circuit Court, Greg Chaimov, a DWT lawyer, explained he and his firm had routinely requested drafts of legislation state agencies submitted pre-session in order to keep clients posted on what laws might be changing. (Disclosure: DWT represents WW in certain matters; however, WW is not involved in this case.)
This year, however, the state took a different position than it had in the past, rejecting the firm's request for such information. The state said in court filings that that the draft legislation was covered by attorney-client privilege, and therefore exempt from the Oregon public records law.
Chaimov, who formerly served as the legislative counsel, the Legislature's attorney, disagreed with that assertion.
Read more: https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2018/10/28/judge-sides-with-gov-kate-browns-administration-on-public-records-lawsuit/
