Joel White

Attorney Joel White, former FOI Foundation president, remembered as strong advocate for press freedom, open government

2018-09-06T23:08:20-05:00

First Amendment attorney Joel White, a former president of the FOI Foundation of Texas and longtime champion of open government, has passed away. White died July 21 in Cartagena, Colombia. He became ill during a trip, having suffered a perforated diverticulitis and septic shock, according to friends and his wife, Melinda Rainey. In his law practice in Austin, White represented news media clients in many types of cases including court access, open records, subpoenas and libel. He also represented clients in finance, energy, construction and manufacturing. He was board certified in civil appellate law and was named one of the best lawyers in [...]

Attorney Joel White, former FOI Foundation president, remembered as strong advocate for press freedom, open government2018-09-06T23:08:20-05:00

Abbott withholding records with Paxton’s blessing

2015-08-26T15:08:38-05:00

By Jay Root The Texas Tribune Originally published Aug. 25, 2015 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently added his voice to the Republican uproar over Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, congratulating a GOP presidential hopeful for saying foreign countries know more about her electronic communications than the U.S. Congress does. But Abbott, too, often uses a private email address for official government business, and in many years as a state elected official has often decided less is more when it comes to disclosing the communications. He has argued recently, for instance, that he is a "member of the public" in order to shield [...]

Abbott withholding records with Paxton’s blessing2015-08-26T15:08:38-05:00
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