Political Illusions of the Cajun Mafia

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
November 30, 2015
TO:
Carla S. Sigler
Assistant District Attorney
Public Records Custodian
901 Lakeshore Dr, Lake Charles, LA 70601
337-437-3290 (office)
337-437-3325 (fax)
csigler@cpdao.org
Holly Carter
Community Relations Release Person
Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office
901 Lakeshore Dr, Lake Charles, LA 70601
337-437-3290 (office)
337-437-3325 (fax)
hcarter@cpdao.org
John Derosier
District Attorney
Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office
901 Lakeshore Dr, Lake Charles, LA 70601
337-437-3290 (office)
337-437-3325 (fax)
jderosier@cpdao.org
Dear Public Records Request Officers,
This is a request under the Louisiana Public Records Act. Section 44:32(D) of the Louisiana Public Records Act
requires a response within three business days.
A Facebook page, if a government entity, is considered public government record. A public entity can’t have
a public Facebook page and then decide what they can censor in and what they can censor out. If a record
is created by a government agency or a government agent or a government official in a scope of their duties,
it is government record and has to be disclosed.
Public records, whether digital or not, must be retained for specific time periods so that the information can
be requested through the Open Public Records Act.
A complaint can be filed in District Court because unlawful administration of public Facebook pages may be
in violation of American Citizen’s right to free speech. Complaints can be made if public pages arbitrarily
moderate the page by deleting comments and banning users who post or make comments unfavorable to
the department. Online speech is just as important as a citizen airing their grievance in a public park. - Just
because the speech is virtual doesn’t mean it is not protected.
Where deleting comments from a public entity’s Facebook page is a constitutional violation, a court will have
to first determine what type of “forum” the website is defined as: “open forum” a “limited public forum” or
a “closed forum.” There are specific rules as to whether and how speech may be limited depending on the
type of forum. Whether the limitations are met will also depend on the specific reasons for deleting the
comments and the content of the comments.
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