Vandussen V Kalkaska Prosecutor - Lawsuit Re: Foia Denials

[peanutbutter]

A class identified as persons who have applied for identification cards for the medical marihuana program in the state of Michigan.

[Ashenfall]

A big thank you to you, Eric. I'm hiding out in Kalkaska, under the menacing shadow of Donnely's rhetoric. It makes me proud when you are able deflate his ego a bit by exposing his agenda and besting him at his trade.

 

Like others, I can't wait to see what you have in mind to do with the info that you collected. Keep up the good fight, man!

[Brad]

I would like a copy of the Cheboygan County records. I would be more than happy to help expose a pattern of abuse by police and prosecutors there.

 

Regarding pooling our money to get copies of records, bad idea. We need 81 pools of money to get the data from the remaining counties! Make that 80, we have the money in Cheboygan County to pay for all records.

[Eric L. VanDussen]

KALKASKA COUNTY PROSECUTOR SETTLES FOIA LAWSUIT - May 25, 2011 - http://www.morningstarpublishing.com/articles/2011/05/25/leader_and_kalkaskian/news/doc4ddd4e85b8d75029616178.txt?viewmode=fullstory

[drtarzanmd]

KALKASKA COUNTY PROSECUTOR SETTLES FOIA LAWSUIT - May 25, 2011 - http://www.morningstarpublishing.com/articles/2011/05/25/leader_and_kalkaskian/news/doc4ddd4e85b8d75029616178.txt?viewmode=fullstory

 

 

Published: Wednesday, May 25, 2011

 

By Chris Tredway

Editor

 

 

KALKASKA — The freelance journalist who sued Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly in March for not honoring a Freedom of Information Act request has been appeased.

 

Both parties reached an agreement earlier this month that kept the case from going to trial, according to court records.

 

Eric VanDussen, 35, of Traverse City, was originally denied his request for information related to medical marijuana cases within Kalkaska County, but will now be provided some of those documents.

 

Donnelly agreed to fork over the information under the condition that the amount of material be cut down and confidential items omitted.

 

“The original FOIA request was extremely broad,” Donnelly said. “This settlement is a much smaller amount of material, much more confined.”

 

Under the deal, Donnelly will provide VanDussen a list of all criminal cases — along with any accompanying police reports, search warrants and defendants’ pleadings — where the medical marijuana law was used in defense, court records show.

 

The settlement adds another piece to the puzzle for VanDussen, who is seeking to understand how each county in Michigan handles criminal cases that involve registered medical marijuana patients.

 

He filed FOIA requests with all 83 county prosecutors some months ago. The only two to refuse were Donnelly and Ottawa County Prosecutor Mike Mulligan, who also settled out of court, VanDussen said.

 

“They came out with a stance that said ‘No, you can’t have anything,’” VanDussen said of Donnelly and Mulligan.

 

Though his request drew similar feedback from other prosecutors — who told the freelancer his wording was rather broad — VanDussen said they had no problem fulfilling it. It should have been the same with Donnelly, he said.

 

“I’m really not surprised it turned out this way. All of the arguments that the prosecutor had made to withhold information were completely meritless. It took about a month of litigation for him to decide it wasn’t worth him fighting this in court,” VanDussen said. “He shouldn’t have been attempting to withhold it in the first place.”

 

Donnelly, meanwhile, denies wrongfully withholding information and stands behind his misgivings of VanDussen’s original request. The prosecutor felt it was too broad or vague, and that some confidential material fell under exemptions to the state’s FOIA law, according to court records.

 

With this chapter closed, VanDussen is moving to the next. He plans to keep a close watch on what happens in appellate courts regarding the medical marijuana law, filming such proceedings and broadcasting it to the public.

 

“The interpretation of the medical marijuana law by courts will have huge impact on how these prosecutors and police officers enforce the medical marijuana law,” VanDussen said. “It’s a very well-written law that some of these people in power are trying to tear apart. I think that a spotlight needs to be put on those in these positions of power so everyone knows what’s going on.”

 

Copy and Paste from :

http://www.morningstarpublishing.com/articles/2011/05/25/leader_and_kalkaskian/news/doc4ddd4e85b8d75029616178.txt?viewmode=fullstory

 

 

Thank You for All your Hard Work Eric