Commonwealth Court judge gives first lecture as Jurist in Residence
The goal of the Right to Know law is to hold government agencies accountable.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson stressed this idea in his first lecture as the Jurist in Residence at Widener Law Commonwealth.
The lecture, A Reasonable Expectation of Transparency—Where the Rights to Know and to Privacy Intersect, focused on Pennsylvania’s Right to Know law and the sometimes competing interests of privacy and access to public information.
The Pennsylvania Right to Know law was signed into law and the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records was created by legislation in 2008. Judge Brobson discussed the origins of the various types of privacy interests recognized in the law, spanning a period of over 100 years. He then discussed how those rights are sometimes implicated in requests for information under the Right to Know Law, with specific reference to major cases interpreting the law. He also addressed what he perceived to be a major factor motivating requests under the law.
“There is a general lack of confidence government. As confidence in government goes down, the demand and desire for transparency in government goes up. People want to know everything now,” Judge Brobson said. “It used to be that nobody wanted to know how the sausage was made. Now, with confidence in the gutter, everybody wants to know what is going in the sausage, because they are afraid something is in there that shouldn’t be.”
“Transparency for transparency’s sake is just an endless road,” Judge Brobson said. “The goal of the Right to Know law is not transparency – the goal of the Right to Know law is accountability. Transparency is a tool to reach that goal. We must balance the duty to hold government accountable against the privacy rights of our citizens.”
Judge Brobson is a 1995 alum of Widener Law Commonwealth, and will serve as the Jurist in Residence for two years. As part of his appointment at Widener Law Commonwealth, he will present public lectures, teach classes, and discuss current judicial issues.