Groups ask high court to bar ‘exorbitant’ fees for government documents

Frustrated by the rising cost of obtaining government documents, three public interest groups have turned to the state’s highest court for relief. 

The organizations want the Court of Appeals to interpret state law in a manner that would make most government documents available to the public free of charge. And in cases where fees are warranted, the groups say it’s time state and local governments stopped charging “exorbitant” rates. 

The groups — the ACLU of Maryland, the Baltimore-based Public Justice Center and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee — filed their petition with the Court of Appeals earlier this month. Their plea came in the form of an amicus brief filed in support of the appellants in Baltimore City Police Department, et al. v. Open Justice Baltimore, a civil rights organization. 

The groups’ lawyer noted that the General Assembly has instructed state and local agencies that they should waive document fees when doing so “would be in the public interest.” Despite that order, the public has seen “a disturbing pattern” emerge in recent years. 

“[A]gencies are increasingly demanding that public interest organizations like [the petitioners] pay thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to access records about the operations and activities of the government,” the groups wrote. 

The ability of individuals and groups to hold governments accountable for their actions “begins to crumble if government agencies are permitted to erect barrier after barrier when nonprofit public interest organizations… seek access to public records in furtherance of their missions,” they added...

Groups ask high court to bar 'exorbitant' fees for government documents - Maryland Matters