Grading Obama Administration Transparency Efforts

The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law has released their Report Card grading the Obama Administration’s transparency efforts at the 100 day mark. The full report is available online. At the 100 day mark, the report concludes that the Administration has made many positive strides in making government information more publicly available, but still has significant work to do to match policy efforts with rhetoric promising more openness by administration officials. In particular, the report takes a tough look at the Obama Administration’s continued use of the State Secrets Privilege, also the subject of an editorial in the New York Times (discussing a 9th Circuit Three Judge Panel Ruling).

Senator Russ Feingold (D) Wiconsin, has also issued a report entitled “Restoring the Rule of Law: A Report on the Obama Administration’s Efforts in the First 100 Days,” which also gives the President high marks for open government efforts, except in the category of “State Secrets”.

Open government advocates will continue to monitor the Administration’s transparency efforts. A good website to track government transparency efforts is maintained by Open the Government, a coalition of open government advocates.

Looking For a Nutshell

As you study for exams, remember that the library has an extensive collection of Nutshells and other study aids, such as the Examples and Explanations series and the Understanding series. You can locate these materials using the library’s catalog.