Glendale's view on the public records laws is
"F*ck those public records laws! We are royal government rulers and above the law"Source Retired judge rips Glendale in report over records dispute Case involves city's dispute with watchdog by Lisa Halverstadt - Dec. 30, 2011 10:11 AM The Arizona Republic A retired Maricopa County Superior Court judge appointed to help Glendale and the Goldwater Institute resolve a years-long records dispute has issued a scathing report against the city. Judge Robert Myers recommends Glendale release records that Goldwater alleges may have been withheld as "politically sensitive" after review by the city's Marketing Department. "If any documents were 'removed' and not conveyed because they were politically sensitive or at the request of the Marketing Department, they do not fall within any legal exception to the public records laws and shall be turned over to Goldwater within 15 days from the date of this order," Myers wrote. document Read the report The report also recommends, at the city's expense, that Goldwater again be allowed to depose a Glendale-contracted attorney after the city turns over certain documents to allow Goldwater to better prepare questions. "There is evidence in the record submitted to me ... which indicate that the city's conduct in avoiding reasonable requests for deposition dates, and production of documents subject to the public records laws and rules of discovery has been intentional," the report said. Myers rejected Glendale's request that the city be allowed to take more than two years to produce a log of records that have been withheld. He said it should be done within six months. Glendale and the Phoenix-based conservative watchdog group have sparred since 2009 over public records related to the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team, which plays at the city-owned Jobing.com Arena. This fall, both sides agreed to have Myers appointed as a special master to help move along the court process. Any recommendations he makes must be approved by the judge hearing the case. Myers, once the county's presiding Superior Court judge, issued his first report containing the recommendations last week. Glendale City Attorney Craig Tindall declined an interview but issued a statement through the Marketing Department on Tuesday. "The city will not comment specifically on the master's report in the media because it remains subject to objections and review by the court," Tindall said. "The city will file its objections to the report with the court, which is the proper forum to address these issues." Carrie Ann Sitren, a Goldwater attorney, is pleased with Myers' recommendations. "The judge looked at all the evidence we brought to him and made his ruling based on what he saw," she said. If Glendale objects to Myers' recommendations, it likely will need to do so within 10 days after the recommendation was filed in court. It was not immediately clear when Myers' report was formally filed. To win, the city would need to prove the special master's report was "clearly erroneous," retired Superior Court Judge Ken Fields said. Judges typically approve recommendations from court-appointed special masters, said Fields, who has served as a special master in other cases. He estimated such recommendations are approved "in excess of 90 percent of the time." Either way, the contentious dynamic between Goldwater and Glendale is deeply rooted. Tindall has said that gathering documents for Goldwater has strained city resources. As of October, the city had released about 18,000 pages related to hockey negotiations to Goldwater. "Certainly I am not unmindful of the burdens of municipal funding but this case needs to be attended to and concluded in a reasonable amount of time," Myers wrote. The special master said disputes that have prolonged the case must end. "The parties and some of their lawyers are extremely confrontational and have not treated each other with civility," he wrote. "I could, but need not at this time, assess blame to or identify the most offending party, but if all the lawyers do not refrain from inappropriate conduct or language, I will do so and assess not only blame but sanctions, fees and costs." |