Bowling v. Office of Open Records

In Bowling v. Office of Open Records, 990 A.2d 813 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2010) (en banc), the Court, interpreting Section 1301(a) of the RTKL, 65 P.S. 67.1301(a), concluded that its standard of review in open records cases is as follows: "a reviewing court, in its appellate jurisdiction, independently reviews the OOR's orders and may substitute its own findings of fact for that of the agency." Id. at 818. The Court also concluded that "a court reviewing an appeal from an OOR hearing officer is entitled to the broadest scope of review," which involves: reviewing "the record on appeal," including "the request for public records, the agency's response, the appeal, the hearing transcript, if any, and the final written determination of the appeals officer"; "reviewing other material, such as a stipulation of the parties, or an in camera review of the documents at issue"; and "supplementation of the record through hearing or remand." Id. at 820.