WILMINGTON, N.C. - After two years of public records requests, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Foundation (ACLU-NC) received New Hanover County’s “Incapable to Proceed” (ITP) records 24 hours after filing suit.
All NC court clerks are required by law to maintain a docket of ITP individuals, ensuring these individuals do not get lost in the system. After seven public records requests, submitted at regular intervals over two years, all county clerks responded except for the New Hanover County Clerk.
Last Wednesday, the ACLU-NC filed a lawsuit to compel the New Hanover County Clerk of Superior Court to comply with North Carolina’s public records laws and produce records of individuals documented as ITP. Within 24 hours, the New Hanover County ITP records were released to the ACLU-NC.
“While we acknowledge we received the requested records only 24 hours after filing suit, this case could have been avoided entirely if they had been produced in the first instance,” said Ivy Johnson, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of North Carolina. “It should not take a lawsuit to compel the Clerk of Court to make public records available upon request."
You can read about the initial lawsuit here.
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