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The latest FOIL war is with the New York State Courts. There is an actual story I am attempting to complete but to do I need records on approvals and denials to shoot video or take photos in the New Rochelle City Court.
Chief Judge DeFiore’s office sent me to foil@nycourts.gov.
My request: “All requests (and denials/approvals) for permission to take photos, shoot views in the New Rochelle City Court since January 2020 until present.”
I received this reply from The Office of Court Administration acknowledging receipt of my FOIL request dated 12/5/22, seeking:
All requests (and denials/approvals) for permission to take photos, shoot views in the New Rochelle City Court since January 2020 until present.
“Please be advised that this Office does not maintain court records, nor are court records subject to FOIL. See Public Officers Law § 86. Rather, access to court records is governed by section 255 of the Judiciary Law, and the custodian of court records typically is the clerk of the court or county clerk where the proceedings were handled. Additional information regarding access to court records is available at the following link: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/foil/CourtRecords.shtml You should direct a section 255 request to the clerk where such request was handled. The request should identify the specific records sought, to permit the clerk to conduct a search, determine what responsive records exist, and assess the search, copy, and certification fees, consistent with CPLR Article 80.
Based on this I contacted the New Rochelle City Court Clerk
“Lucian told me to send a FOIL request as below but they referred me to you and said make a section 255 request. Can you provide me? Please advise”
Good morning Mr. Cox,
“Unfortunately after searching for your request below NRCC does not maintain such records.”
Thank you,
Magdalena
I then tried Chief Larry Daley
Lucien Chalfen told me to make FOIL requests for court records. He directed me to the OCA at FOIL@nycourts.gov. As you can see from the exchange below, no one seems to have the records I requested. Is it true that there are no such records? If there are, can you provide them? Thanks Robert Cox
Chief Larry Daley
“Will look into this request and advise.”
Good morning,
After further review, and consistent with OCA’s and New Rochelle City Court’s responses, we do not maintain such records.
Regards,
Lawrence N. Daley, Chief
NYS Courts - 9th Judicial District
I sent a long reply because these answers are baloney.
Chief Daley,
In an October 17, 2022 email you described a “Media video/photography protocol”.
You said I “must continue to follow filing local requests for video/photography”.
In 15 years of covering courts, I have never once not done exactly as requested to obtain permission for video/photography during a court proceedings, in an empty courtroom or in public areas in a courtroom such as a hallway.
If there is some previously existing document or web page or some other public record of the “Media video/photography protocol” you reference I would like a copy so I may read it. There is certainly no such document posted at the New Rochelle City Court to my knowledge. I have not seem such a document on the website of the NY Court System or in any other court building in Westchester County.
I can say that I have spoken to a number of court staff who do their best to help me with a request but who clearly do not know about any Media video/photography protocol. Everyone seems to be winging it.
I do know there is a form to record proceedings IN a court room. I have used this form in the past: Audio Visual Application.
http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-02/AudioVisualApplication.pdf
I have also NOT used the form when another media outlet has already filed the form and gotten approval. I get the audio/video material from them as I believe the court prefers to minimize the number of cameras operating in the courtroom.
The form itself is problematic.
It does not state where to deliver the form or how. In recent weeks I made such requests at the Westchester Supreme Court for criminal cases. I went to the Criminal Clerk’s office on 2, they sent me to 9 and they took the application. Another time I went to 9 with a subsequent request and was sent to 2 and they took the application. I now believe they were just being helpful not following any protocol.
The two recent cases were in Judge Murphy’s courtroom. Her clerk, Anna Pia, emailed me that Judge Murphy approved my request.
This raises another issue— that the form has no field for email address. I thought to include mine anyway.
There is no field for an approval. If a judge approves a request should there not be a signature on the form with a received/time stamp? If the court officers are involved should they not sign off on it. Should not a record be kept and/or a copy provided back to me?
What I have gotten instead is an email from a clerk to present to the court officers when I arrive that day. That works but it is not part of any formal protocol as far as I can see.
Through trial and error I now believe in the Westchester courts, I need to deliver the Audio Visual Application form to a particular judge’s clerk and they will email me back a response, hopefully approving my request. I have been walking the paper to the clerk’s directly but as I get email replies I am collecting email addresses. Anna told me I could email future Audio Visual Application forms for Judge Murphy to her.
The problem with that is the email addresses for the clerks do not seem to be readily available such as on a web page. I can sort it out, case by case, judge by judge, clerk by clerk but it is hardly a protocol. All those email addresses should be public like on a web page.
Ideally, there would be a “media resources” page on the court website that would explain all of the rules, policies, protocols, and provide forms and contact information as well as a single point of contact for submitting Audio Visual Application forms.
You also said “even after advisement from court staff that a specific case is labeled “high profile” and with verbal acknowledgment from OCA-Public Information that you are authorized to do so, as you are a member of the media” — this presumably regarding Lucien Chalfen telling me I could take pictures in the hallway during the Vaccaro trial.
I never said I had “verbal acknowledgment”. I was directed by the New Rochelle City Court clerk to contact Lucien Chalfen regarding the Michael Vaccaro trial. I did as instructed via email. He sent AN EMAIL back saying I could take pictures in the hallway. I have published this email online.
I have an AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENT IN WRITING telling me I could take pictures not a verbal “acknowledgment”. In fact, I had no conversation with Lucien about this only email and I kept all of them.
You might consider from my perspective that it is perfectly reasonable that I followed the course that I did with Vaccaro based on directions from the New Rochelle City Court clerk and the Public Information Officer in the Chief Judge’s Office. If there is confusion it is within the court system not with me so there is no basis for people like Sergeant Rhodes to be angry about it.
I would say that your department’s failure to draft and make public what you call a “Media video/photography protocol” (and it is hardly a protocol because it is not written and not available to the media it supposedly governs) is the problem here not that I did something wrong or somehow violated what is effectively a SECRET verbal protocol.
Turning to the records covered by my FOIL request it is simply untrue that there are no such records because I have two examples of such records myself.
One is my approved request whereby Judge Minihan approved my request to take photos in the courtrooms at New Rochelle City Court about 8 months ago.
One is from Lucian Chalfen in July to say I could take pictures in the hallway at the New Rochelle City Court during what the clerk said was a “high profile” designated Vaccaro trial.
These requests/approvals are both documented in emails and they were sent from nycourts.gov accounts so all of those email exchanges are public records in the possession of the New York Court system.
I made a valid FOIL request for public records, some of which I know for certain exist.
The response I have gotten so far — bounced from one department to the next and falsely told there are no such records — constitutes a constructive denial of my request (it is also a violation of New York State law).
Based on this, I hereby appeal the constructive denial of my request and demand the immediate production of all records that meet my criteria:
“All requests (and denials/approvals) for permission to take photos, shoot views in the New Rochelle City Court since January 2020 until present.”
Whoever on this email can should either forward to the appeals officer or provide that information including contact information so I may do so.
I do not have to explain myself but I will anyway. I am the only reporter who has the New Rochelle City Court as a “beat”. I am in court frequently and cover many cases in the New Rochelle City Court. I have been given a hard time in that court both about the Vacarro photo I published and indirectly by being hassled for other things which I believe are meant to be retaliatory for my having taken/published the photo.
I want to know how everyone else is treated.
In short, I want to know if I am being singled out for “special” treatment or are there other people seeking/obtaining permission to take pictures or shoot video in the New Rochelle City Court; or, people taking pictures or shooting video without following the so-called protocol required of me without being hassled or threatened as I have been.
I believe that you do have all relevant email records going back two years. I want those searched for relevant records and those records produced immediately.
You seem to be saying you do not retain the Audio Visual Application forms received (requests) or the responses (approvals or denials). It is not much of a protocol if these records are not retained. These ARE decisions made by a judge so I struggle to understand why they would be tossed in the trash. I would ask that more effort is made to locate these records.
If anyone thinks I am just going to drop this matter and move on they are sorely mistaken. If you check around with other agencies I cover you will find that I never stop once I start even if it takes years.
Please reconsider and just produce the records I have requested.
Alternatively, if you want to say you have no records beyond my requests/approvals because there were no other requests besides mine you can say that too, clearly and in writing.
Thanks
Robert Cox
So now I wait.
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