Appeals filed with the Office of Open Records can be grouped into six categories:

• Granted
• Withdrawn
• Moot
• Denied
• Dismissed
• Transferred

Requesters obviously gain access to records when appeals are granted. Less obvious is that they often gain access when appeals are withdrawn (only the requester can withdraw an appeal) or found to be moot (usually because records were provided during the appeal).

The most common reason appeals are dismissed is that they’re filed too early or too late. (Appeals filed too early can be refiled.) Appeals are transferred when the OOR isn’t the proper venue for an appeal (e.g., appeals involving a judicial office or statewide row office ).

The pie graph below shows the results of all non-inmate appeals filed in 2015 as of March 1, 2016.

The complete Office of Open Records 2015 Annual Report is available on our website (along with previous years).