NEWS | Engstrom Law, PLLC

Jan 11, 2018
1 min

Wilson Times Editorial Board Discusses Engstrom's Research

In a recent editorial, the board of The Wilson Times discussed Elliot's research on North Carolina's public records laws: As open government advocates, there are many changes to the public records law we’d like to make that would draw opposition from the city, county and state government lobbies. Making police body camera videos public and disclosing more information about employee disciplinary actions, for starters. Engstrom’s rewrites, though, are largely technical correcti

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Video: Elliot talks public records with Carolina Journal

Oct 2, 2017
1 min

Engstrom to Publish in North Carolina Law Review

Next year, Engstrom's latest article on freedom of information laws will be published in the North Carolina Law Review, a publication of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law. The article, entitled "Defining North Carolina's Public Records and Open Meetings Fee-Shifting Provisions in the Larger National Context," will use freedom of information laws from other jurisdictions to provide definition to and predict the future of North Carolina's public records and open meetings fee-sh

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Sep 29, 2017
2 min

Engstrom files on behalf of SPLC at Court of Appeals

This week, Engstrom filed a brief and supporting motion on behalf of the Student Press Law Center ("SPLC") at the North Carolina Court of Appeals. In the brief, Engstrom and SPLC argue that the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) does not preclude the University of North Carolina from disclosing records of sexual assault investigations in response to a public records request. SPLC has more: The case originated with an October 2016 open-records request by the in

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Video Available: Engstrom Talks Public Records at JLF

Jul 2, 2017
1 min

Engstrom Publishes in Elon Law Review

Now available in Vol. IX, Issue One of the Elon Law Review is attorney Elliot Engstrom's article "'Tuning-Up' North Carolina’s Public Records Act: A Brief Discussion of Problem Areas and Possible Solutions." The article touches on several problem areas within North Carolina's public records act -- the state freedom of information law -- including the role of public information officers, the numerous personnel exemptions, and the nature of attorney's fees awards. The article i

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Mar 14, 2017
1 min

Engstrom Wins 2017 Sunshine Award for Advocacy

Today, Principal Attorney Elliot Engstrom was named the winner of the 2017 Sunshine Award for Advocacy. The Sunshine Awards are given out annually by the Sunshine Center of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition. The award is given to an advocate who worked in 2016 to help keep government transparent. From the Sunshine Center: The winner of the 2017 Sunshine Award for advocacy goes to Elliot Engstrom, fellow at the Elon University School of Law. Prior to joining the law

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Dec 13, 2016
4 min

Engstrom Explains: The Open Meetings Law

North Carolina law sets forth a broad policy generally requiring that "the hearings, deliberations, and actions of [public] bodies be conducted openly." In pursuance of making this broad policy a reality, the General Assembly has enacted the "Open Meetings Law." Below are a few points explaining what this law is and how it works: (1) The Open Meetings Law requires that public bodies conduct public business openly. Official meetings of public bodies must be open to the public

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Aug 31, 2016
1 min

Engstrom Speaks On Camera with TWC News About Belmont Litigation

Earlier today, Principal Attorney Elliot Engstrom spoke on camera with Kristin Garriss of Time Warner Cable News about public records litigation involving the city of Belmont, North Carolina: Last summer, Ellen Deitz Tucker and Dan Deitz filed a public records request for the report. Their attorney says the family had concerns about the department's integrity after their sister's death during a 2012 Belmont police chase. "Well the city of Belmont told us it was completely con

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Aug 31, 2016
1 min

Engstrom Speaks with WBTV about Belmont Release

This evening, Principal Attorney Elliot spoke with Christian Flores of WBTV about this week's partial release of an investigation into the Belmont Police Department: This week, a judge ruled 22 pages of the 160-page 2014 investigation is public record. The push to make the report public started when the family of Donna Deitz sued the city of Belmont. In 2012, Deitz was killed when she was hit by a car being chased by Belmont police. After this, her family decided to look into

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Aug 28, 2016
2 min

Portions of Investigative Report into Belmont Police Made Public by Court Order

Ellen Deitz Tucker and Dan Deitz, plaintiffs in the matter of Deitz v. Belmont, have published the portions of an investigative report into the Belmont Police Department that they received pursuant to court order earlier this month. The decision to publish the records comes after the siblings' decision not to appeal an order disclosing some, but not all, of a report detailing misconduct that led to the termination of the city's former police chief. The public portions of the

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Aug 2, 2016
2 min

Judge Orders Belmont to Produce Portions of Investigative Report

Judge Carla Archie of the 26th Judicial District has ordered the City of Belmont, North Carolina to produce portions of an investigative report into its police department. The order is the result of a lawsuit launched in August of 2015 with the support of the Raleigh-based Civitas Institute. Barring an appeal by the City, the portions will be produced within ten days of the filing of Judge Archie's order. In the spring of 2015, the Huntersville-based U.S. Investigative Servic

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Jul 9, 2016
5 min

The Basics of North Carolina's New Police Body Camera Law

Update: On July 11, Gov. McCrory signed HB 972 into law. On June 30, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified House Bill 972, a new law dealing with police body cameras. Specifically, HB 972 deals with whether and how the videos from these cameras are made public. The law was passed as an exception to North Carolina's public records law, which generally provides that documents "made or received" by government agencies are subject to public disclosure. While complicated, t

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Jun 29, 2016
1 min

Judge Rules Plaintiffs May Seek Belmont Records

On June 21, Judge Carla Archie of the 26th Judicial District ruled that the plaintiffs in Deitz v. City of Belmont may seek records from the city, as they have standing to bring and have properly stated their claims under North Carolina's Public Records Act. The plaintiffs in Deitz are seeking access to an investigative report into the Belmont Police Department compiled by the U.S. Investigative Services Agency, a private company based in Huntersville. The city argues that th

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Jun 16, 2016
1 min

Engstrom Explains the Intersection of HB2 and Public Records

Last week, I joined Mark Shiver on “What Matters in North Carolina” to discuss a recent public records request submitted by the Charlotte Business Journal to Rep. Dan Bishop. The business journal requested emails relating to Rep. Bishop’s involvement with HB2, and the representative’s office took the position that at least some of the emails were not public records. I joined Mark to give the legal background of how and why this conflict is playing out, and what is likely to u

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May 26, 2016
3 min

A Peak Behind the Veil of Public Interest Law

In a recent piece for the Civitas Institute, I give a behind the scenes look at how competing public interest groups operate in action: A recent episode in Moore County shows how public interest lawyers can drive policy — on both the Left and the Right. Simply by writing a threatening letter, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sparked a chain of events that nearly culminated in two separate federal lawsuits. Luckily, the administration and legal counsel of Moore County Scho

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May 19, 2016
4 min

Judge to Review Belmont Police Investigation Following CLF Arguments

On Tuesday, May 17, Judge Carla Archie heard arguments in Gaston County Superior Court in the matter of Deitz v. Belmont. The case is a challenge brought on behalf of two plaintiffs seeking access to an investigative report into the Belmont Police Department. The defendant City of Belmont maintains that the report is a personnel record, and thus exempt from the Public Records Act. This despite the fact that the Act requires government actors to separate confidential and publi

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