On June 18, 2025, News/Media Alliance joined an amicus brief by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the case of Gray Media (KSWO-TV) v. Comanche County Facilities Authority. The case concerns KSWO-TV’s access to surveillance video records from the Comanche County Detention Center, which the jail had refused to turn over. The video concerned an altercation leading to an inmate’s death, following similar incidents in Oklahoma detention facilities. The Facilities Authority argued that jails are “law enforcement” under Oklahoma’s public records law and therefore entitled to disclosure exemptions.
The amicus brief challenges this argument, noting that the statutory text and legislative history do not support such an interpretation. The brief also discusses the public benefits of greater access to jail records, noting that without “reliable information about what the government is doing (or failing to do) … the public is unable to conduct oversight and ensure accountability” and that the “knowledge gleaned from public records can be a catalyst for public debate and, where needed, reform.” Read the full amicus brief here.
