You may be occupied with elections, the World Series and investigations into carbon monoxide alarms*, but there was another big story last week at the Ogden courthouse.

The Sierra Club received a favorable ruling in its open records lawsuit against the city of Ogden.

Before I start receiving e-mails from the Drill, Baby, Drill crowd, it's not that I'm rooting for the Sierra Club. The issue here is a public records case making it into a courtroom.

Utah has little case law on its public record laws, and that can lead to confusion on all sides about what documents are available to the public.

Regardless of who prevails in Sierra Club v. Ogden, the case has the potential to clarify what the government in Utah has to tell people.

— NC

*I had to give some credit to an investigation with my byline on it. Come on.

Labels: GRAMA, open records