What is a Freedom of Information Act Request (Sunshine Request)?

Attorney Tyson Mutrux describes in this video what is a freedom of information act request (sunshine request)?

Hi! Tyson Mutrux here with the Mutrux Law Firm. Today I’m answering the question of, “What is a Freedom of Information Act Request?” Sometimes you’ll hear it referred to as a FOIA Request, sometimes as a Sunshine Law Request. All it is, it’s a request for publicly available information. Now, there are certain things you cannot get. For example, if there is a pending criminal investigation or some sort of police investigation, you cannot get those records until it’s over. Sometimes there are closed records you cannot be able to receive unless you get a court order. So it’s easily that you cannot get, but the vast majority of information is available, and with the way I tell people to look at it is, look at it like a subpoena in a way. You send it, they have three days to respond, and they’ll let you know whether it’s available or not. It’s actually very simple. The form is on our website at www.mutruxlaw.com. You can also get it at the Missouri Secretary of State, and I will tell you there’s a lot of forms online that you can get. Just Google it. There’s plenty of them on there. If you will look at the actual statute, it’s under the Missouri Revised Statute, the section is 610. It gives all the details about Freedom of Information Act Request.