Brian Theide
400 Elm Street
Big Rapids, Michigan 49307
Michigan Freedom of Information Act
Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. §15.231 et seq.
The Michigan Freedom of Information Act, enacted in 1977, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Michigan. Records are defined as a writing which encompasses handwriting, typing, printing, photographing, photocopying, and every other means of recording, and includes letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, or other means of recording or retaining meaningful content prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body in the performance of an official function, from the time it is created."
Any person other than incarcerated felons may request public records in Michigan. A person who asks for access to public records is not required to justify his or her request. A person can use the information any way they please. The Michigan Freedom of Information Act allows 5 days for any response to record requests.
We the People
We the People have a Right to Know according to the Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS], past Presidents (of both major political parties), Congress, and the United States Department of Justice. As an expression of that Right to Know, we have coordinated valuable information from a number of resources into a single, public-facing, searchable database.
![Peace Officer Standards & Training [POST] Departments](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-07/Brady.png?itok=xsIFvU8R "Peace Officer Standards & Training [POST] Departments")
![Organizations [Law Enforcement et al.]](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-07/Brady%20%282%29.png?itok=H7Pj15F8 "Organizations [Law Enforcement et al.]")
Society wins not only when the guilty are convicted but when criminal trials are fair; our system of the administration of justice suffers when any accused is treated unfairly.
- William O. Douglas, Associate JusticeSupreme Court of the United States