Imagine a world with no sky. Imagine the ocean run dry. Imagine that sunshine is rare. Reality hits you right there!

A shining city on the river seems to be a hotbed of sunshine law activity these days.  One case is in trial there.  But in another part of that city, a public body is claiming it cannot release information on certain “service contracts” it has because it “doesn’t have paperwork” to go with these contracts.  What?  A governmental agency is doing business on handshakes? That’s what it claims!   Are you comfortable that your public body is spending your tax dollars in arrangements for which no written document exists?  That’s incredible!  No reasonable person would make agreements in that fashion, especially where the persons making them have a fiduciary duty to others based on the handling of those arrangements.

And surely no lawyer would ever advise a public body to do business in that fashion.  Oh, whoops… You say that indeed the law firm advising this public body, one of the big ones based in another large city on the river, has given them this advice to do business on a handshake rather than a paper contract?  Incredible!  Cost them $25,000, rumor goes.  (What a gig, I’m thinking….)

I bet you think I make this stuff up, don’t you?  Wish I did.  But I’m not smart enough to make up stories that are this good.