Opinion ID: 1723461
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: redactions

Text: Finally, we turn to whether redaction is appropriate, and, if so, what may be redacted. The parties have asked for guidance in the matter of redactions, and we are sympathetic to their concerns. Redaction is appropriate whenever disclosure is discretionary. [47] This means that a public body is permitted to redact any information that falls within an exemption of the FOIA. For example, if details in the plaintiffs' files had revealed intimate or embarrassing details of the plaintiff's private lives, such as information relating to a medical condition, redaction would be appropriate. In the present case, defendant Saranac Schools provided the circuit court with original and redacted versions of the Ms. Bradley's records. As mentioned above, copies were provided to this Court. The proposed redactions were extensive, to say the least. Here is an excerpt from a memo from the principal to the plaintiff requesting that she take corrective action. You must [blank]. There are [blank] and [blank] all [blank] on [blank] and [blank]. You were given several [blank] by other teachers plus the [blank] you already have. You have plenty of [blank] to [blank] these [blank] in. Take care of this situation. [Memo of February 23, 1993, to Christine Bradley from David Benjamin.] Redactions such as those made in this case are entirely at cross purposes with the FOIA, which entitles all persons to  full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and public employees, [48] consistent with the act. Once a document has been redacted to the extent that the example above was, its informative value is nil. One purpose of the FOIA is to allow citizens to obtain information about their government so that they may more fully participate in the democratic process. [49] This objective is hindered when a citizen requests information, only to be provided with an edited version that gives no indication of the true content of the document. While we have no doubt that the school district edited these documents with the best of intentions, this result is unacceptable. With regard to these documents, the only information that should have been blocked out was the names of the individual students and other persons not employed by the public body. [50]