What this site is
This is a static public-interest archive. It has no CMS, no database, no admin dashboard, and no upload interface. Each FOIA is a permanent HTML page generated from a machine-readable data file. Documents are hosted on the same server as the site. The archive is designed so that a new request can be added by regenerating a small set of files.
How requests are counted
Each original FOIA is counted once, even when it produces multiple responses, supplemental productions, or appeals. Appeal events are tracked separately. Fees are separated into three categories: amounts quoted or demanded, required deposits, and payments actually made. A request that is granted in part is counted as “granted in part,” not as both a grant and a denial. Where an appeal is known to have been filed but the filing has not yet been located, the appeal status is shown as N/A rather than as “none,” so the record does not imply that no appeal exists.
How facts are handled
Every article separates four kinds of statements. Documented facts are taken directly from the released records and are dated. The agency's position is what the public body asserted. Legal interpretation is analysis of the Michigan Freedom of Information Act and related authority, labeled as interpretation. Open questions identify issues the record does not resolve. A denial is not treated as proof of wrongdoing, and an agency's assertion is not treated as a verified fact.
Redaction and privacy
Before publication, the requester's name and any spelling or formatting variations are removed, along with personal addresses, personal phone numbers, email addresses, and unnecessary sensitive information. Public officials acting in their official capacity are not treated as private requesters. Extracted text, OCR output, metadata, search indexes, HTML source, and downloadable documents are checked. Unredacted originals are kept outside the public web directory. Uncertain redactions are flagged for manual review rather than guessed at.
Documents and evidence
Published documents are redacted copies or clean transcriptions. The site does not publish unredacted originals. Where a figure is transcribed from a scanned report, the arithmetic is reconciled to the agency rows and any limitation in coverage is disclosed. Infographics use only verified figures and include a source note. They are explanatory aids, not substitutes for the underlying records.
Legal information, not legal advice
Statutory references are provided for public understanding. Nothing on this site is legal advice. Deadlines and remedies depend on the specific facts and should be confirmed with a licensed Michigan attorney.
Corrections
If a document is misread, a figure is wrong, or a redaction is incomplete, the page will be corrected and the update date changed. Corrections are noted in the article's update record. The goal is accuracy, not advocacy for a predetermined conclusion.
Independence
This site is not affiliated with the Delta County Prosecutor's Office, Delta County government, or any official entity. It is maintained solely for local government accountability, transparency, and public-interest commentary. Content is shared under fair use.
Technical notes
The site is static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Search runs in the browser against a generated JSON index. There are no third-party analytics scripts and no advertising trackers. Long-form case-watch pages load Google Fonts for typography, and embedded video and social widgets load directly from their own providers. The server is Nginx on Debian, serving files from a dedicated document root. Directory listings and executable uploads are disabled at the server level.