A lawsuit has been filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court alleging violations of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act related to records requested from the county detention center.
Celina Coleman-Hale, a representative of Arkansas Restorative Initiative — a nonprofit organization that works to ensure jails and prisons follow the law and uphold the constitutional rights of inmates — filed the complaint against Jefferson County and Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. in his official capacity.
According to the filing, Coleman-Hale submitted a request for public records related to operations at the W.C. “Dub” Brassell Adult Detention Center, including policies, grievance reports, incident records and other documentation.
The lawsuit alleges that while county officials acknowledged receiving the request and confirmed the existence of responsive records, they failed to produce the documents within the timeframe required by law.
The complaint further states that the county provided only partial records and repeatedly indicated additional materials would be produced at a later date, but did not complete the request. It alleges delays were attributed to internal review, redaction and staffing issues, which the filing argues are not valid reasons for extended delays under the state’s open records law.
Coleman-Hale claims the county has withheld records without citing specific legal exemptions and has failed to provide full access to requested documents, constituting a violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the county violated FOIA, order the immediate release of all non-exempt records and require officials to identify any withheld materials along with the legal justification for doing so.
The case was filed April 6 in Jefferson County Circuit Court and remains pending.
