APCC returned to court on September 20th to continue to press our claim that the Massachusetts National Guard illegally denied our request for public documents related to the multipurpose machine gun range. In the hearing, APCC brought an unusual emergency motion for extraordinary relief given that time is short as decisions on contracting for the construction of the range are being made right now. Our motion was denied without prejudice. The court’s decision is not a ruling on the merits of our claims—that will come later.
The judge’s decision makes clear that he expects the Guard to give us all of the documents we are seeking promptly after October 1st if the Guard enters into a construction contract before that date so as not to lose its remaining federal funding for the project. The judge’s decision says that “[s]hould the defendant fail to produce the documents in a timely fashion, or assert exemptions which it has already seemingly waived, the plaintiff is free again to seek relief from the Court.”
Despite this initial setback, APCC will continue to press for the records about how this project is framed and programmed, as well as the cost estimates as they relate to the 2024 rebid. The differences between the current rebid and past bids raise many questions that deserve answers.
APCC believes, now more than ever, that the Guard’s claimed exemptions to the public records law’s production requirements don’t apply to our request. We see them as regrettable delay tactics, pure and simple. APCC remains confident in our position that the Guard has violated its obligations under the public records law and we look forward to an expedited trial on the merits.
Per the court’s order, we will be back in court before October 15th to update the court on the status and schedule further events in this case.
