Editorial: A Tough Year for Open Government
A guest editorial from James C. Ho, private attorney and former Solicitor General of Texas
It's been a bumpy year for supporters of open government.
Last Christmas Eve, the U.S. Senate passed sweeping health care reform—without the public debates the President promised to air on C-SPAN.
No legal reasons were invoked for refusing those broadcasts—just a concern that publicity would harm the bill's chances for passage.
A few weeks later, however, a team of Texas lawyers took things one step further: They filed a lawsuit arguing that open meeting laws are unconstitutional.
A group of local officials, represented by noted criminal lawyer Dick DeGuerin, are challenging the criminal penalties of the Texas Open Meetings Act as a violation of the First Amendment.
The lawsuit is not just meritless—it turns the Constitution on its head.
The First Amendment protects citizens against government oppression, not government against citizen oversight.
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