DALLAS – The Supreme Court of Texas is set to hear oral arguments on giving Texans increased access to government information under the Texas Public Information Act. Currently, government bodies in Texas may withhold almost any information from the public just by involving an attorney and then claiming attorney-client privilege. TPPF is asking the Court to limit that exception for certain categories of documents, including completed reports and investigations, which is how the Texas Legislature wrote the law.
Between 2020 and 2021, Highland Park ISD’s Seay Tennis Center experienced a sudden jump in revenue of over one million dollars, likely due to employees running the tennis center prior to 2021 pocketing money from customers. Taxpayers and parents demanded answers. In response to public pressure, HPISD hired an attorney, who then hired third-party accounting firm Whitley Penn to investigate how much money was missing and where it might have gone. Whitley Penn created a report, which it sent to HPISD’s attorney. HPISD then claimed the report was attorney-client privileged and refused to release it.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation sued HPISD in 2023 under the TPIA to force HPISD to disclose the report detailing Whitley Penn’s findings. HPISD has fiercely argued at the trial and appellate court levels that it may keep secrets from the public so long as it launders those secrets through an attorney. Now, TPPF is asking the Texas Supreme Court to give full effect to the TPIA and restore public transparency by narrowing the attorney-client privilege exception that HPISD has relied on to withhold the report from the public.
When: Thursday, Oct. 8 at 9:00 a.m. CT
Where: SMU Dedman School of Law, 3315 Daniel Ave., Dallas, TX 75205
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lFUjA6KC2o
For additional background on the case, click here.