Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law Appeals
The Commonwealth's most comprehensive database of Right-to-Know Law decisions issued by county District Attorney Appeals Officers and selected state agency appeals officers.
Track your Right-to-Know request from filing through appeal.
- Track requests. Log requests, agency contacts and letters in one place.
- Deadline estimates. Response, extension and appeal dates from the Commonwealth holiday calendar. Verify every date yourself.
Open Docket is a product of Securing Public Access to Records and Knowledge, LLC. It is not a law firm, does not give legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
New to RTKL PA requests? Track yours from the filing date through the appeal with Open Docket.
Recent Decisions
-
Washington CountyDenied
Keith Owen Campbell v. McDonald Borough Police Department
Washington County Deputy DA Friedmann upheld McDonald Borough Police's denial of May 2026 incident reports, photos, video, and texts under § 708(b)(16) and CHRIA, and found the rest moot or…
-
Washington CountyPartially Granted
Jaxon Fox v. County of Washington
Washington County Deputy DA Friedmann ordered release of internal jail records about a detainee but upheld denial of CAD dispatch records under § 708(b)(16), court records, and immigration records barred…
-
Washington CountyPartially Granted
Corey and Debbie Behanna v. Monongahela City Police Department
Washington County Deputy DA Friedmann ordered Monongahela City Police to release 72 non-criminal incident reports, mostly crashes, but upheld the denial of criminal investigative reports and declined to rule on…
-
Cumberland CountyDenied
Alfred Yates, Jr. v. Carlisle Borough Police Department
Cumberland County First ADA Hair LaRue upheld Carlisle Borough Police Department's denial of gift-card fraud police reports under §§ 708(b)(16) and 708(b)(17), noting possible CVRA access.
-
Cumberland CountyDenied
Ellen M. Lyon v. Camp Hill Borough Police Department
Cumberland County First ADA Hair LaRue upheld Camp Hill Borough Police Department's denial of a dog-attack incident report under §§ 708(b)(16) and 708(b)(17), noting possible CVRA access.
Browse decisions by county →Browse appeals officer decisions →
Have a request or an appeal of your own? Track it with Open Docket.
Business-day clock, appeal package, and filing, all in one docket.
About This Database of Pennsylvania RTKL Decisions
Counties publish Pennsylvania RTKL decisions in many places. For instance, some post them online, while others keep them in paper files or email attachments. As a result, they are hard to find and harder to compare. In short, this database gathers them in one searchable place. Every decision is indexed by county, by outcome, and by the exemption the appeals officer applied. In addition, you can browse the full set, pick a single county, or read the outcome trends in the dashboard above.
Each entry summarizes the original request, the agency response, and the exemption the agency claimed. Moreover, it notes the reasoning behind the ruling. The Office of Open Records does not hear criminal investigative appeals. For that reason, these District Attorney rulings are often the only public guidance on police and prosecution records. State agency determinations (Senate, House, Treasury, Attorney General, Auditor General, and Legislative Reference Bureau) are listed separately under Appeals Officers and are not county DA appeals. Therefore, reading Pennsylvania RTKL decisions side by side is useful. Above all, it shows which arguments win, which exemptions appear most often, and how practice shifts from county to county.
For the statute itself and for appeals outside the criminal context, see the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which publishes final determinations and guidance for the rest of the Commonwealth.