Mississippi Dept.of Corrections v. Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) appealed the Chancery Court’s order granting the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center’s (Justice Center’s) complaint for declaratory judgment, deeming MDOC in violation of the Mississippi Public Records Act (MPRA) and requiring MDOC to produce records sought by the Justice Center. In November 2014, the Justice Center made a request under the MPRA for records pertaining to MDOC’s process and protocol for lethal injections, as well as MDOC’s acquisition of chemicals it intended or considered for use in lethal-injection executions. MDOC responded to the Justice Center’s 2014 request, furnishing documents, some of which were redacted. The Supreme Court concluded it would have been “ludicrous for this Court to blindly follow” the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 (MPRA) as it existed in 2014 when the documents at issue were requested, and “act as though we did not know the law, as adopted by the Legislature in 2016 and readopted in 2017.” The Supreme Court concluded it had to apply the Public Records Act to the this case “as though it has always read as it reads today,” vacated the trial court’s judgment, and rendered a decision in favor of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). View "Mississippi Dept.of Corrections v. Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center" on Justia Law