Hurr durrr FOIA story

Everyone can request government documents, thanks to FOIA.
“Every citizen has a right to request a government record,” Justin Brown said. “The worst they can do is turn you down.”
Brown, who is an assistant professor at Winthrop University, used to teach at the University of Florida. He said the state of Freedom of Information in Florida is very open to those who want information.
“Florida is known for its sunshine in more ways than one,” he said.
He cited a controversy in the state when, after NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt died during a race in 2001, a student news paper was able to obtain autopsy photos of the racer’s body.
Some changes were made to freedom of information law in Florida after that, but, Brown said, the state is still especially “sunny.”
He said South Carolina is in “the middle of the pack,” in comparing the state’s FOIA laws with other states.
An interesting time for FOIA in South Carolina was during the scandal involving Governor Mark Sanford and his hiking trip in Argentina. Brown said journalists were able to use the freedom of information act to dig up travel and expense records detailing where the governor had been.