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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact Mike
October 9, 2017 LaSusa: mikelasusa1@gmail.com


Independent Journalist Sues Michigan State Police, Antrim County for Non-
Compliance With Freedom of Information Act

Independent journalist Mike LaSusa has filed lawsuits alleging that the Michigan
State Police and Antrim County are attempting to block the public's access to
records concerning a controversial murder-suicide case by charging excessive fees
that are unlawful under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.

LaSusa, a journalist who has covered crime and security issues in the United States
and abroad for several years, is seeking public records related to the case of Anne
Avery Miller, a resident of northern lower Michigan who was criminally charged for
her son Sam's 2007 murder and later committed suicide while in the custody of
Antrim County police. (The State Police were also involved in this investigation.)

The release of the requested records could help clarify the events surrounding
Sam's death as well as his mother's jailhouse suicide, which involved alleged law
enforcement incompetence throughout the investigation, prosecution and
incarceration. Avery Miller and many of those close to her insisted that she was
innocent of the crime with which she had been charged, and that her death was the
result of improper behavior on the part of law enforcement and judicial officials.

Despite the fact that the release of the requested records would clearly serve the
public interest, both Antrim County and the Michigan State Police have attempted to
bar access to the records by charging excessive fees for processing this request.

LaSusa's lawsuits seek to compel the disclosure of the records requested in this
case. They also seek to establish a precedent for other citizens and journalists
seeking records under the FOIA that are clearly in the public interest. Public bodies
should not be allowed to stonewall access to records of public interest by charging
excessive and unwarranted fees.

Mike LaSusa is represented by his father Lawrence LaSusa of LaSusa Law Offices in
this matter. For more information, please contact Mike LaSusa by email at
mikelasusa1@gmail.com.