SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas will not appeal a court ruling against his office in a lawsuit over the state’s open-records law.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Balderas late Wednesday ruled out appealing a state Court of Appeals ruling that promised to give bite to the Inspection of Public Records Act by allowing fines of up to $100 a day when agencies improperly withhold documents requested under the statute.
The case began with Marcy Britton, an animal rights activist who objected to then-Attorney General Gary King’s Animal Cruelty Task Force raiding Hispanic ranches on the supposition it would find cockfighting rings. The raids usually turned up no cockfights.
Britton found that King’s office had withheld documents that fell under her request for documents. Britton sued and the appeals court agreed that King’s office wrongly withheld the records.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com
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