Partner Kelly McNamee was featured in the New York Law Journal for her insights on a New York appellate ruling limiting law enforcement agencies’ ability to withhold disciplinary records under the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). In a unanimous decision, the Appellate Division, Third Department confirmed that agencies may not rely on blanket privacy claims to redact or withhold records, including those involving unsubstantiated complaints.

McNamee, who has extensive experience in public records litigation, highlighted the broader implications of the ruling for transparency and accountability. She noted that despite the 2020 repeal of Civil Rights Law § 50‑a, “many FOIL requests seeking police disciplinary records continue to be met with silence, crippling delays, exorbitant fee demands, and/or flawed legal theories attempting to stave off disclosure.”

McNamee suggested the decision could reshape current agency practices, adding that she hopes it will “help curb a troubling strategy now prevalent across the state: the blanket redaction of police officer names on personal privacy grounds where the disciplinary complaint itself is deemed ‘unsubstantiated.’”

McNamee also underscored the clarity provided by the ruling, noting that courts continue to reject attempts to categorically withhold materials on personal privacy grounds as contrary to  FOIL’s very purpose. “As the Third Department today confirmed, this reasoning applies with equal force to categorical redactions of police officer names absent a showing of a particularized and specific justification for each redaction in accordance with FOIL’s disclosure mandates,” she said. “Equally important, state agencies are now on notice that continued attempts to shroud police disciplinary materials in secrecy on similarly flawed grounds risk substantial fee-shifting awards—a deterrent that I hope will promote timely disclosure of police disciplinary records and the public’s right to be informed about the processes of governmental decision-making.”

Read the full New York Law Journal article (subscription may be required).