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Two FOIA appeals withdrawn after subpoenas and legal guidance, county says
Summary
Two residents who appealed FOIA denials formally withdrew their appeals after sheriff and county counsel said subpoenas or court procedures were the appropriate means to obtain inmate phone and visitation records. The board closed both appeals and took no further action.
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners closed two Freedom of Information Act appeals on July 13 after sheriff's office officials and county legal counsel said a subpoena or court order — not FOIA — is the proper way to obtain certain inmate records.
Erica Whiting, who joined the meeting by Zoom, asked the board to reverse a denial of her Michigan Freedom of Information Act request and to release nonexempt portions of the requested records. She argued county staff cited multiple statutory exemptions (citing MCL 15.243) without explaining how each exemption applied to specific records and asked that segregable, nonexempt portions be disclosed rather than withholding entire files.
Sheriff Murphy told the board the sheriff's office is responsible for custody and care of inmates and emphasized privacy protections for inmate telephone calls and visitation recordings. County legal counsel, identified in the meeting as Mr. Norford, said case law recognizes a privacy interest in inmate calls and observed that courts often require subpoenas and sometimes conduct in-camera review to determine what, if anything, should be released. Counsel recommended upholding the denial on legal grounds.
Whiting asked whether she should withdraw and pursue a different legal avenue; officials advised seeking a subpoena. She then formally withdrew her appeal and the board closed the item.
Earlier in the meeting Mrs. Fletcher had also brought a FOIA appeal. The chair reported late-afternoon email correspondence showing attorney Combs had submitted a subpoena to the sheriff's department and that Sheriff Murphy had acknowledged receipt and had begun steps to fulfill it. With the subpoena in hand, Mrs. Fletcher told the board she wished to withdraw the appeal; the board acknowledged the withdrawal and closed that item as well.
The board did not take a separate vote on the merits of either FOIA denial after both appellants withdrew; county officials said subpoenas, court orders or counsel are the appropriate routes for requests that implicate privacy or ongoing criminal matters.
