Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch announced today that a consent judgment entered in Providence County Superior Court brings to an end his lawsuit against the City of Cranston for violating the State’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA).

On July 14, 2008, Lynch filed papers in Superior Court seeking a civil fine for “a willful and knowing violation” of APRA against the City of Cranston. Lynch brought the lawsuit on behalf of John Bina, a Cranston resident who, in a complaint filed with the Attorney General in March 2008, alleged that he had twice sought the same public records from the city but had neither received the public documents nor received a response explaining why not, which APRA requires.

An investigative review by Special Assistant Attorney General Laura Ann Marasco revealed that the city’s failure to respond within 10 business days to Bina’s APRA requests, which were made in December 2007 and then renewed in February 2008, constituted a knowing or willful violation of APRA, requiring the Attorney General to seek a monetary fine against the city. The Attorney General had previously warned the city, on Feb. 14, 2008, in a separate APRA finding, that it must respond to requests for public information within 10 business days. The city finally responded to Bina in May 2008, after the Attorney General’s Office began its investigation.

Lynch said that under the terms of the consent judgment, per order of Superior Court Associate Justice Michael A. Silverstein on June 16, the city has agreed to pay the State a $1,000 civil fine — the maximum allotted for an APRA violation — and has provided the Attorney General’s Office with a copy of its procedures regarding APRA, for review.

“A willful and knowing failure to respond to APRA is not only unacceptable, it’s also illegal. Not knowing is one thing, but knowing and not doing is another thing,” said Lynch. “Our office tries to ensure compliance with Rhode Island’s Sunshine Laws by training public officials, especially newly elected or appointed ones, on what their responsibilities are under the law. When we determine that non-compliance is willful or knowing, however, public bodies must know that we will vigorously litigate the resulting cases.”

The lawsuit against the City of Cranston is the fourth one brought by Lynch against public bodies under his authority as Attorney General, pursuant to Rhode Island’s open-government laws.

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