Professor Steinbuch’s Scholarship & Service

Owens, Nathan. Update on case in Tyson report. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (May 8, 2019). A subpoena signals “there’s likely a price-fixing criminal investigation underway,” said Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “When the [Department of Justice] does a criminal investigation, it’s a serious matter.”

Monk, Ginny. Little Rock housing authority panel says: Who met? Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Apr. 10, 2019). Steinbuch said that a quorum of members does not have to be present for a meeting to be public. “That was a meeting because they had called it as a meeting,” Steinbuch said. “They didn’t have a quorum. That’s not … Professor Steinbuch discusses public meeting requirements

Hammersley, Lisa. Critics say several Arkansas bills hit speech, records law. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Mar. 25, 2019). A few of the proposals are conceptually sound, he said. He points to House Bill 1417, which would permanently hide the names of confidential informants to law enforcement authorities. But Steinbuch criticizes other bills — such as one that … Professor Steinbuch discusses 2019 legislative session

Herzog, Rachel. Media queries routed to Little Rock mayor’s office. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Mar. 23, 2019). “I’m at a loss to understand why I need information filtered through a [public relations] person,” Steinbuch said. “I don’t know why I need information filtered when government employees could be providing answers directly to the public and directly to … Professor Steinbuch discusses mayor’s media query decision

Bowden, Bill. Sponsor of bill to keep documents on state execution drugs secret declines meeting with FOI task force. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Mar. 10, 2019). “His bill is designed on its face to dramatically closet the behavior of government,” Steinbuch said. “Nothing about his bill is designed to preserve transparency.”

Monk, Ginny. Reworking set for records bills; Arkansas legislators plan amendments after hearing from advocates. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Feb. 9, 2019). “This bill would be the biggest sea change since the FOIA’s inception,” said Steinbuch. Commentary from the Arkansas Freedom of Information Task Force prompted the Bill’s sponsor to plan for reworking the legislation.

Perozek, Dave. Fayetteville School Board members talked mascots before meeting. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Feb. 2, 2019): . ” … to the extent some discussions take place outside the scope of the public, it diminishes the public’s oversight of public governing bodies.”

Glisovic, Marine. Interview. News at 6 p.m.. ABC. KATV, Little Rock, AR (Jan. 30, 2019). Professor Steinbuch discusses HR1013, filed by State. Rep. Brant Smith, asking members of the Ark. House to acknowledge Arkansas as a constitutional carry state.

Field, Hunter. Medical marijuana firm touted its Arkansan roster, but filing didn’t broach Canada stake. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Jan. 27, 2019).

Professor Robert Steinbuch has been appointed to the newly created Arkansas Freedom of Information Task Force, which is in charge of making recommendations on bills that would affect the state public records and open meetings law. The group will advise whether legislators should approve the bills, revise them or kill them.