Transparency Blind Spot: A Response to 'Transparency Deserts'

Abstract

We have read with interest Christina Koningisor’s publication, "Transparency Deserts." While there is much to be lauded in the work – all access advocates would like to see more scholarship and publicity about the importance of transparency and accountability – we are disheartened by the article’s failure to recognize the extant vibrant body of scholarship and activism in state freedom of information law. We, moreover, find this omission characteristic of a broader ignorance in legal academia of the sweat and toil of legal scholars, scholar-practitioners, and interdisciplinary academics who analyze and advocate for state transparency laws. This blind spot particularly manifests, unfortunately, among those at elite (typically coastal) law schools, who generally contribute vitally to the literature of the undoubtedly important federal transparency regime.

Keywords: FOIA, Freedom of Information, Access to Information, Legal Research, Transparency, Accountability, State Law

JEL Classification: I23, K23, K39, H70, H73, L31, L32, L88, L86