Could Louisiana's Indigent Defense Assistance Board conduct an official meeting by telephone?

Plain-English summary

The Indigent Defense Assistance Board asked whether it could hold official meetings through a telephone conference call. In 2000, the attorney general's office said no. It read the open meetings law to require public body meetings to be open and to prevent secretive or unannounced ways of conducting official business, including telephone contact among board members.

The opinion said the open meetings law could not be circumvented by unannounced or secretive meetings, including contact among board members by telephone. It concluded that the board could not hold official meetings by conference call under the law then in effect.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Indigent defense board members at the time

The opinion said official board meetings could not be held by telephone conference call. It linked the rule to the public's ability to observe official business and decisions.

Public board chairs at the time

The office said the law could not be circumvented through an unannounced or secretive meeting format. Its answer did not provide a telephone-meeting procedure for this board.

Local residents at the time

The opinion described the open meetings law as a way for citizens to know how public officials perform their work and make policy decisions.

Common questions

Q: Could the board take official action in a conference call?
A: The opinion said it could not hold an official meeting by telephone conference call.

Q: Did the open meetings rule cover the Indigent Defense Assistance Board?
A: The office applied the public body meeting rule to this board and rejected the proposed phone meeting.

Q: Why did the opinion reject telephone meetings?
A: It said public business had to be performed openly so citizens could observe officials' actions and decisions, and that secretive methods could not evade the law.

Background and statutory framework

The office quoted the open meetings provision, including the rule that public body meetings were open unless lawfully closed and the prohibition on procedures circumventing the law's intent. It applied that language to the board's proposed telephone conference.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 42:5 (open meetings provision cited in the opinion)
• R.S. 42:4.1 through R.S. 42:8 (open meetings provisions quoted in the opinion)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0423

Original opinion text

December 28, 2000
OPINION 00-423

Mr. Risley C. Triche
Chairman of the Indigent Defense
Assistance Board
P. O. Drawer 339
Napoleonville, Louisiana 70390

Dear Mr. Triche:

You have requested an Attorney General’s Opinion on behalf of the Indigent Defense Assistance Board (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”), relative to Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law. Specifically, you ask: is the Board permitted to hold official meetings by telephone conference call?

Your Board was established under LSA-R.S. 15:151, et seq., which requires:

(D) All meetings of the Board shall be open and subject to the provisions of R.S. 42:4.1 et seq.

LSA-R.S. 42:4.1 provides:

It is essential to the maintenance of a democratic society that business be performed in an open and public manner and that the citizens be advised of and aware of the performance of public officials and the deliberations and decisions that go into the making of public policy.
Toward this end, the provisions of R.S. 42:4.1 through R.S. 42:10 shall be construed liberally.

Furthermore, the Board is considered a public body under the Open Meetings Law. LSA-R.S. 42:5 states:

A. Every meeting of any public body shall be open to the public unless closed pursuant to R.S. 42:6.2.
B. Each public body shall be prohibited from utilizing any manner of proxy, voting procedure, secret balloting, or any other means to circumvent the intent of R.S. 42:4.1 through R.S. 42:8.

Page 2

Mr. Risley C. Triche
OPINION 00-423
Page 2

This law may not be circumvented by meeting in any unannounced or secretive manner. This would include contact among board members by telephone.

The public policy behind the Open Meetings Law is to ensure the maintenance of a democratic society by requiring that all public business be performed in an open and public manner so that citizens may be aware of the performance of the public officials and the decisions that go into the making of public policy. To this end, the Open Meetings Law should be followed to the letter.

It is therefore the opinion of this office that members of the Indigent Defense Assistance Board may not hold official meetings by telephone conference call.

I trust this addresses your concerns. Please contact this office should you request further assistance.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

_______
ANN EVANS WALL
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/AEW;dsc

Page 3

OPINION 00-423

LSA-R.S. 42:5

Open Meeting Law states that it is improper for the Indigent Defense Assistance Board to conduct official meetings among members by telephone conferencing.

Mr. Risley C. Triche
Chairman of the Indigent Defense
Assistance Board
P. O. Drawer 339
Napoleonville, Louisiana 70390

Date Received:
Date Released: December 28, 2000

ANN EVANS WALL
Assistant Attorney General