The ethos of www.sunshineweek.org is simple and clear: “Open Government is Good Government”. The organization believes in a citizen’s “right to know”. This year Sunshine Week is March 10 – 16, 2013. The week is dedicated to a national initiative spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information, and to expose the dangers of excessive and unnecessary governmental secrecy. Sunshine Week is celebrated yearly, and takes place in mid-March to coincide with James Madison’s birthday.
Partners of Sunshine Week include organizations ranging from the American Library Association and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists to the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Sunlight Foundation.
Voters in Washington State approved our Public Disclosure laws more than 30 years ago. Unfortunately, state and local governments have continuously claimed a growing number of exemptions to public records laws and requests. As a result, citizens have faced increasing obstacles and frustrations in their efforts to gain access to our government and its information. Thus it has become abundantly clear that strong “Sunshine Laws” are crucial to assuring government accountability and transparency, especially when citizens face the very real prospect of being prosecuted (some say persecuted), convicted and even imprisoned by our government.
If you or a loved one is cited for, or charged with a crime, in King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, Kitsap County, Thurston County or one of the following cities or towns: Algona, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Bonney Lake, Bothell, Burien, Des Moines, Duvall, Edmonds, Enumclaw, Everett, Federal Way, fife, Hunts Point, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kent, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Lake Stevens, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Maple Valley, Marysville, Medina, Mercer Island, Milton, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, New Castle, Normandy Park, North Bend, Olympia, Puyallup, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Sea Tac, Seattle, Shoreline, Snohomish, Sumner, Tacoma, Tukwila, University Place, and/or Woodinville, or any other city or town in Western Washington, call the seasoned Seattle criminal attorneys that make up the Criminal Defense Team of SQ Attorneys at (206) 441-0900; (425) 998-8384 for an initial free consultation. The team understands the importance of protecting your rights and liberties, and ensuring that the government is both accountable and transparent.