[Board] Fwd: Request for your endorsement of GIS Amicus Letter re: Sierra Club v Orange County

Thu Jan 19 04:50:16 PST 2012

Dear OSGeo friends,

As has been discussed earlier on this list, the Sierra Club's case against
Orange County to try to open up county parcel basemap data under California
data practices laws is heading to the CA Supreme Court. Bruce Joffe has
drafted an Amicus Letter in support of the Sierra Club. I encourage the GIS
professionals on this list to consider individual support of this effort
and ask the Board to consider signing this letter as an organization.

Thank you,

David Bitner

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bruce Joffe <GIS.Consultants at joffes.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 10:22 PM
Subject: Request for your endorsement of GIS Amicus Letter re: Sierra Club
v Orange County
To: apayne at wakegov.com, Bill.Moore at townofcary.org, bitner at dbspatial.com,
BrannJ at co.thurston.wa.us, bspatial at together.net, Chris.Woodward at state.co.us,
chrisz at zwebdesign.com, chuck.drinnan at ewam-associates.com,
Craig.Parada at sbcglobal.net, CWolff at dhs.ca.gov, DianaM at ci.fullerton.ca.us,
dmurray at ci.westminster.co.us, etp at msi.ic.ucsb.edu, gis at onda.org,
haydee.dabritz at cdph.ca.gov, jsackett at selcnc.org, jwhite5 at stanford.edu,
lar at calmail.berkeley.edu, lar at berkeley.edu, lblake at ksninc.com,
sunburned.surveyor at redefinedhorizons.com, Leanne.Lestak at colorado.edu,
leebenda at earthsystems.net, lilli at prev.org

 Dear Friends,
**        **You have been stalwart supporters, advocating for our
principles on this important issue of vital concern to our GIS community.
I thank you for sending me your pre-endorsement of this GIS Amicus Letter,
and hope you will now co-sign this version as an individual, and perhaps
also representing your own organization.

**        **You may pass this request along to other potential supporters.
Thank you,
Bruce

Dear Colleague,

I'm sure you know that Sierra Club is in the final phase of contest against
Orange County for access to its GIS-compatible parcel basemap.  This case
will determine the applicability of the CA Public Records Act to GIS-based
data.

Although Orange County prevailed in the Trial Court, and again in the Court
of Appeals, the case has been accepted for final resolution by the
California Supreme Court.

I count you among the overwhelming majority of GIS professionals who
support Sierra Club's lawsuit because you support unfettered access to our
governments' geodata.  Now is your opportunity to influence the outcome of
the case by adding your name to the GIS Community Amicus Letter (attached)
that will be sent to the Court.  The letter explains several GIS
technicalities to the Court and refutes misinformation proffered by Orange
County.  A large preponderance of signatures will help convince the Court
that OC's arguments do not represent the normal standard of GIS
professional knowledge and practice.

Please send me an email indicating your endorsement of the Amicus Letter,
and I will add your name as a co-signer.
         **       You may co-sign as an individual.*
                 Please indicate your "title" and professional affiliation
for reference purposes.  (The letter makes it clear that individuals'
signatures does not imply endorsement of their reference organization.)

*IN ADDITION
*         **       Please encourage your professional organizations to
endorse* this Amicus Letter *as an organization.*  Organizational
endorsement makes a big impression!
         **       Please ask your employer to endorse* as well, if
appropriate.

The Amicus Letter must be sent by *February 24*, so *please send *me *your
endorsement *as *soon* as you can.

With Anticipatory Thanks,
Bruce
------------------------------
*        Bruce Joffe, GISP
        Organizer, Open Data Consortium project
        c/o GIS Consultants
        902 Rose Ave.
        Piedmont, CA  94611
        510-508-0213
        GIS.Consultants at joffes.com
------------------------------
*
P.S.   ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

I have sent out Amicus endorsement requests before.  Previously:
         *83 *people and organizations co-signed a GIS Amicus Letter asking
the Supreme Court to review this case ... and the Court agreed.
         *77 *people and organizations co-signed a GIS Amicus Letter asking
the Court of Appeal to force Santa Clara County to provide its geodata
under terms of the PRA ... and the Court agreed.
         *65 *people and organizations co-signed a request to the CA
Attorney General to determine whether "Parcel boundary map data maintained
by a county in electronic format is subject to public inspection and
copying under provisions of the California Public Records Act." ... and the
AG concurred.

Our Amicus Letter might be equally successful in informing the Supreme
Court.

FYI, Orange County's case is based on the so-called "software exemption" of
the PRA which says "computer software includes computer mapping systems,
computer programs, and computer graphics systems."   The County contends
that:
1 - The County's basemap is "parcel geographic data in a GIS file format."
2 - "GIS" is defined as both software and data.
3 - "Computer mapping system" is defined as another term for GIS.
4 - "Computer mapping system" is both software and data.
5 - The County's data is a "computer mapping system" and therefore exempt.

The GIS Amicus Letter argues against these assertions.
a) - The Legislature did not intend to include data when it exempted
software.
b) - While all software operates on data, data is not an intrinsic part of
GIS, nor of CMS.
c) - The structure of GIS-compatible data is necessary for a user to read
the data with GIS software, therefore GIS-formatted data must be considered
public record.

Do let me know if the Amicus Letter makes this clear to a non-technical
Judge.

The *Sierra Club's brief* to the CA Supreme Court, and *Orange County's
reply*, can be found at
http://www.calpubrec.org/oclawsuit/appeal/index.html under "*Briefing on
the Merits*."

The 4th District Court of Appeal's decision is a bit further down the web
page at:
"*The Court of Appeal denied the Sierra Club's Petition in an Opinion Filed
on May 31, <http://SCvOC%20Appeal%20Opinion%20Filestamped.htm>2011<http://SCvOC%20Appeal%20Opinion%20Filestamped.htm>
*linked to:
*
http://www.calpubrec.org/oclawsuit/appeal/SCvOC%20Appeal%20Opinion%20Filestamped.pdf

*

-- 
************************************
David William Bitner
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