Montgomery McCracken Wins Pro Bono Right-To-Know-Law Appeal on Behalf of the Youth Resentencing & Reentry Project
March 21, 2025
Types : Press Releases
On February 24, 2025, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of Montgomery McCracken’s pro bono clients, the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP) (a Philadelphia-based organization that works with those previously sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes committed as children) and YSRP’s Senior Advisor Eleanor Myers, Esq. in the case of Myers et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. The court’s ruling reinforces the need for transparency and access to Pennsylvania’s government records.
The case was an appeal of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ (DOC) denial of a Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) request filed by YSRP and a subsequent ruling by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) that the information that YSRP’s RTKL request sought was a protected government record not suitable for disclosure. YSRP’s RTKL request sought information from DOC about a unique type of supervision in Pennsylvania called Special Circumstances Parole. YSRP made such a request so that the populations that YSRP serves could better understand what Special Circumstances Parole entails and how to qualify for it.
Montgomery McCracken attorney Rachel Welsh stepped in to handle YSRP’s appeal of the OOR decision, which had ruled that DOC was excused from releasing the Special Circumstances Parole policy because the policy was subject to a “public safety” exception to disclosure under Pennsylvania’s RTKL. In her briefing to the Commonwealth Court, Welsh argued that YSRP was entitled to the DOC policy because the information YSRP sought about Special Circumstances Parole does not and could not pose a public safety risk that could justify DOC’s withholding of the policy, and that any limited portions of the policy that were not suitable for disclosure could simply be redacted so that the remainder of the policy could be released. The Abolitionist Law Center and Amistad Law Project filed an amici curiae brief in support of YSRP’s position and Montgomery McCracken alum Jessica Rizzo argued the case on behalf of YSRP before a panel of the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg.
On February 24, 2025, the Commonwealth Court reversed the OOR decision, noting that it agreed generally with YSRP’s argument that the Special Circumstances Parole policy could not be withheld. The court then ordered DOC’s disclosure of the policy with only limited redactions. DOC has opted not to appeal the Commonwealth Court’s decision and released the requested policy. Montgomery McCracken is proud to deliver YSRP this victory to ensure public access to the important information about Special Circumstances Parole.