Appeals

New Appeal Form Available

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

As a general rule, when a government agency denies access to records in Pennsylvania, the requester can appeal to the Office of Open Records.

Today, the OOR published a new Appeal Form. Our goal was to make it easier to understand and simpler to complete. The new form is available on the OOR website in two versions:

If you prefer a standard PDF rather than a fillable PDF, that’s available here:

Much more information about how to file an appeal is also available on the OOR website.

Previously, there were two Appeal Forms: one for standard denials, and one for “deemed denials.” (A “deemed denial” occurs when an agency doesn’t respond to a requester within the time limit established by the Right-to-Know Law.) The new Appeal Form replaces both of the previous versions. The OOR will still accept appeals filed on the previous forms.

August 2015 Appeals Statistics

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

August was another record-breaking month here at the Office of Open Records. More appeals came in our door last month than in any month before.

We received 344 appeals in August. At this point, four of the top five months in history (including each of the top three) have been in 2015.

Here’s a look at the top 10 busiest months in the history of the OOR:

  1. Aug. 2015 — 344 appeals received
  2. June 2015 — 313
  3. July 2015 — 261
  4. Sept. 2013 — 244
  5. April 2015 — 241
  6. Oct. 2013 — 240
  7. Aug. 2013 — 235
  8. Aug. 2012 — 231
  9. April 2013 — 222
  10. Dec. 2013 — 221

July 2015 Appeals Statistics

/ Liz Wagenseller / Leave a comment

In June, the Office of Open Records received more appeals than in any previous month. We didn’t break that record in July, but we did receive the second-most appeals ever.

We received 261 appeals in July, which means three of the top four months in history have been in 2015.

Here’s a look at the top 10 busiest months in the history of the OOR:

  1. June 2015 — 313 appeals received
  2. July 2015 — 261
  3. Sept. 2013 — 244
  4. April 2015 — 241
  5. Oct. 2013 — 240
  6. Aug. 2013 — 235
  7. Aug. 2012 — 231
  8. April 2013 — 222
  9. Dec. 2013 — 221
  10. July 2013 — 220

Edited on Aug. 17, 2015: The number of appeals filed in July was 261, not 264. Three appeals filed in August has mistakenly been attributed to July.

Record-Breaking Month in June

/ Liz Wagenseller / 2 Comments

The Office of Open Records received more appeals in June 2015 than in any previous month — and it wasn’t even close.

We received 313 appeals last month, eclipsing the previous record of 244 in September 2013.

Because I’m a bit of a stats geek, here’s a look at the top 10 busiest months in the history of the OOR (note that two of the top three are from this year):

  1. June 2015 — 313 appeals received
  2. Sept. 2013 — 244
  3. April 2015 — 241
  4. Oct. 2013 — 240
  5. Aug. 2013 — 235
  6. Aug. 2012 — 231
  7. April 2013 — 222
  8. Dec. 2013 — 221
  9. July 2013 — 220
  10. March 2012 — 217

In the first half of 2015, the OOR received a total of 1,181 appeals (an average of 197 per month). If that pace continues, 2015 will be the second-busiest year to date in terms of appeals received.

One strong trend that’s not changing is that the complexity of appeals is increasing. As both requesters and agencies become more knowledgeable about the Right-to-Know Law, the issues that arrive at the OOR on appeal tend to be more intricate and require a greater time commitment for deeper levels of legal research and analysis by our attorneys.