Clinical Associate Professor & First Amendment Clinic Director Clare R. Norins moderated the panel “Drinking from a F.O.I. Firehose: Barriers to Timely Records Fulfillment” at the 35th annual Georgia Bar, Media & Judiciary Conference in February 2026.
Local governments are struggling to keep up with voluminous requests for databases, documents and digital records, including police body-cam and dash-cam footage that can be costly to store, review and produce. Artificial intelligence has the potential to simplify records fulfillment. But AI also may be enabling a surge of cookie-cutter computer-generated records requests. This panel addressed what can be done to make freedom-of-information compliance more timely and efficient.
Panelists included:
- David Cuillier, Director of the University of Florida’s Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project
- Charles Minshew, Senior Editor for Data Journalism at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Jessica O’Connor, Attorney and City Manager of Griffin, Georgia
- Cindy Wang, General Counsel and Ethics Officer of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
The Issue
Government Transparency
Georgia’s legislature finds that transparent government is essential to a free, open, and democratic society. The state’s “sunshine laws” guarantee access to the public records and public meetings of local and state government agencies. The First Amendment and Georgia’s uniform superior court rules also protect the public’s right to observe court proceedings and review court…
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The Issue
Media Law
The First Amendment guarantees a free press, meaning journalists are able to express any opinions they want about the government, even criticisms. However, journalists are often hindered in their ability to gather and publish news through the threat of lawsuits, subpoenas, and criminal prosecution. Read more about our support for student and professional journalists here.
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