Legal Hotline

Q: What are some of the issues we need to consider when reviewing political advertising? A: Financing, required disclosures, timing, rates and defamation issues arise in the context of political advertising, and news media organizations should carefully review the content of political ads before publication.   What is a political ad? The Pennsylvania Election Code, Section…

Q: We want to review a criminal complaint filed with the county Court of Common Pleas as part of a murder prosecution. Is this record public under the Right-to-Know Law, and should we file an RTKL request with the court? A. The criminal complaint is a public record and should be available from the court,…

Q: What are the rules when using the terms “March Madness,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “Final Four,” and other NCAA trademarks in advertising?  A: Advertisers cannot use National Collegiate Athletic Association trademarked terms, phrases or logos without permission from the NCAA. The NCAA has registered several terms, phrases and logos associated with its annual collegiate basketball tournament…

Q: I requested access to the names, job titles, salaries, length of service and employment contracts for members of our local police department. The agency denied access to officers’ names saying that all the officers might, at some point, operate undercover. Can they do that?  A: No, public employee names, job titles, salary and other…

Q: Are police dash and body camera videos public records under the Right-to-Know Law? A:  No, these records are not subject to public access under the RTKL. Act 22 of 2017 removed law enforcement audio and video recordings from the  RTKL and instituted a parallel, more restrictive access framework that has resulted in significant barriers…

Q: An advertiser wants to run an estate notice and only include the name of the deceased and an address for the executor. Is that enough information? A:  No, Pennsylvania law governs the content of estate notices and requires them to contain certain, specific information.  The Pennsylvania Probate Code, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3162,  requires the…

“Borough Council will hold its first regular meeting of the year at 7pm Thursday, January 11, 2024, at Borough Hall, 123 Main Street.  Regular meetings for the remainder of the calendar year will occur on the second Thursday of each month at 7pm at Borough Hall.”

Q: We’d like to inspect the returns after the election. Does the Election Code specifically address public access to returns? A: The returns are public, and there are provisions in the Election Code that govern access. The Election Code addresses public access to returns as part of the general rule governing public access to records…

Q: Is there a rule in Pennsylvania or federal law that restricts last-minute political ads? A: There is no federal law or regulation that prohibits last-minute political ads in newspapers, on their websites or in digital news products, and the provision of the Pennsylvania Election Code dealing with last-minute political ads was declared unconstitutional and…