The Kentucky Open Government Coalition (KOGC) is pleased to announce that the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media Scripps Howard First Amendment Center has awarded the 2024 James Madison Award for service to the First Amendment to Coalition co-director Scott Horn for his "commitment to public awareness and understanding of the Kentucky open records and open meetings laws."
http://uknow.uky.edu/professional-news/scott-horn-receives-2024-james-m…
Horn developed and curated the Sunshine Law Library (https://kyopengov.org/law) on the KOGC website (https://kyopengov.org/), "the largest freely accessible collection of Kentucky Attorney General opinions and decisions (1977-present), along with primary resources on par with, if not superior to, cost-prohibitive commercial legal research platforms."
The James Madison Award is presented on an annual basis "to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to First Amendment rights. The award was created in 2006 and honors the nation’s fourth president, whose extraordinary efforts led to the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Awardees must have significant ties to Kentucky, and their efforts must have resulted in the preservation or expansion of freedom of the press and/or freedom of speech."
"The Sunshine Law Library gives the public unrestricted, no-cost access to review decades of authority governing Kentucky’s open records and meetings laws, allowing citizens, from their own computers, to educate themselves about their rights and independently assess whether those rights have been violated."
“Horn expended substantial time and energy in constructing both the coalition website and the law library — all on his own initiative and with no expectation of remuneration — to empower the public. The Sunshine Law Library is a critical step in leveling the open government playing field.”
The library has been visited by government watchdogs and open government advocates from 169 Kentucky cities, and from individuals across the country, since its launch in March to coincide with KOGC's fifth anniversary. It offers an easily navigable research tool and a powerful search feature to assist the public, media, and public agencies in verifying their rights and duties under Kentucky's open records and open meetings law -- all at no cost to the user.
"Horn is also at the center of ongoing open records litigation that arose when he filed an open records request with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission for records of public officials’ discussions of public business on private devices. "That case (https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ky-court-of-appeals/115372886.html) — now pending in the Supreme Court — will, in no uncertain terms, decide the future of the open records law in Kentucky."
“Scott’s name does not appear in headlines or bylines, but his singular contributions to protect and expand the freedom to information demonstrates how he has championed open government in the Commonwealth."
Through his efforts, Horn has truly democratized open government in Kentucky.
Horn earned his Master of Library Science and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Spanish from UK. He works as a software engineer for the San Diego-based biotechnology company Illumina.
The James Madison Award is scheduled to be presented at the Scripps Howard State of the First Amendment Address, delivered by Michael Abate, preeminent First Amendment advocate, proponent of government transparency and litigator with Louisville law firm Kaplan, Johnson, Abate & Bird. The award presentation will be at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 26, in the Grand Courtroom of the UK Rosenberg College of Law. The full event will be 5-7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Details of the event are posted at https://ci.uky.edu/jam/state-first-amendment-address (https://ci.uky.edu/jam/state-first-amendment-address).
Horn joins past James Madison Award winners affiliated with the Kentucky Open Government Coalition: co-directors Jennifer P. Brown (2013), Amye Bensenhaver (2016), and Jeremy Rogers (2018). Our heartfelt congratulations to our co-director, colleague, and friend.
To learn more about the James Madison Award and it's 18 past recipients, see https://ci.uky.edu/jam/happenings/state-first-amendment-address/james-m…
http://uknow.uky.edu/professional-news/scott-horn-receives-2024-james-m…
