<aside> 📚 See our other Guides and Manuals for more tips and tricks on getting the most out of MuckRock tools. And if this was helpful to you, consider making a donation to support our work!

</aside>

We regularly receive help requests from users that read something like this:

I don’t understand why the agency rejected my request. I know they have these records because … and I believe my request was well defined because … what do I do?

They are trying to tell me that judicial records are exempt in Oregon, but I know that its completely bogus! The law definitely says “every agency” What do I do?

The answer is often something close to “just say that in your appeal” (or even more often, “say that, but more politely”).

Basic Tips

Some general tips to get you started:

Be polite. Remember that you’re dealing with a human and you’re asking them to help you.
Be clear and succinct.
Your appeal should capture a solid summary of the situation, as you understand it. Restate your request and summarize the reasons given for the rejection. Explain, clearly and succinctly, why those reasons don’t apply. Assume that the appeals officer will refer to any attached documents to verify details but don’t expect them to read through the prior correspondence to assemble an understanding of your request and the response.
Consider spelling out exactly how you know (or why you believe) the agency has the records you are seeking.
Requests and appeals are not the place to lodge accusations. Don’t get sidetracked with grandstanding: your goal is not to convince the appeals officer that the original public records officer is a dirtbag, your goal is to get the records.
Review MuckRock’s Exemption Guide for suggestions on approaching specific objections and exemptions.
If an agency just ignored your request entirely, the legal term of art is “Constructive Denial” — our Exemption Guide has great language for challenging constructive denials.

Not Very Effective	More Effective
Please look at this request. The denial seems totally unfair.	The attached documents summarize a request I made to {agency} on {date}. I requested {description}. On {date} the agency rejected my request, asserting {reasons}. The rejection was improper for the following reasons because {reasons}.
This agency is trying to say judicial records are exempt? That’s bogus!	Oregon Public Records Law, Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. 192.410 (3) the act includes the records of "every state officer, agency, department, division, bureau, board and commission; every county and city governing body, school district, special district, municipal corporation, and any board, department, commission, council, or agency thereof; and any other public agency of this state."

Administrative judicial records are not exempt.

Please provide the responsive materials forthwith. If such materials cannot be produced, please provide an appropriate explanation for this rejection, as is dictated by this agency's legal obligations under the Oregon Public Records Law. Your accelerated attention to this matter will be greatly appreciated. | | Why are they telling me to look at their website? Do they think I’m stupid? The information I am asking for isn’t there. 😡😤🤬 I know they have it, for {a long list of reasons}. There are summaries on the website but I’m asking for the whole report. If i just wanted a stupid summary … ugh. Why are they so evil? | On {date} I requested the following information from {agency}:

As instructed by {whoever} I reviewed the public website at {URL}.

While I do see summary reports, I do not see full reports. In particular, I do not see {description of missing records}. I know that this material exists because it was widely reported at the time and the agency’s own summaries refer to this material. * Citation 1 * Citation 2 * Citation 3

In addition I do not see {whatever else is missing}

I know that this material exists because {reasons}.

I ask that you please provide the responsive materials forthwith.
| | | |

Additional Resources

Lifecycle of a MuckRock Appeal walks you through exactly what happens when you file an appeal.
We refer users to a few resources for help crafting and workshopping requests and appeals. Find those at Research Sources & Community Support.
Check out our article, Where to Find Legal Support for a thorough list of available legal resources.