A late Fulton County judge and the Carter Center's international effort to increase access to information were honored Oct. 19 at the Georgia First Amendment Foundation's annual dinner.

The group gave its “Open Government Hero” award posthumously to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Manis, who died in December at age 76.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Cohen spoke about Manis, who was his mentor when they both worked in the Georgia Department of Law.

He recalled Manis fielding calls for hours from citizens who were getting nowhere in their efforts to see public information from cities. “She couldn't file suit, but she helped” people so they understood their rights, he said.

Manis' view, Cohen said, was that, if government officials weren't giving citizens access to something they were entitled to see, “It usually means something illegal or improper is going on.”

Cohen said that, on the Fulton County bench, where she presided over cases from 1995 until shortly before her death last year, Manis approached motions to seal documents or close courtrooms like this: Show me where law allows the judge to do that and tell me why I should.

On the federal bench since 2014, Cohen said that, when parties bring similar requests his way, he asks himself, “What would Stephanie Manis do? And the answer is usually obvious.”

The foundation's annual dinner is named for the late Justice Charles Weltner of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The recipient of the Weltner Freedom of Information Award was the Carter Center's Global Access to Information Program, which assists governments in becoming more transparent and helps citizens learn how to access information that affects public affairs.

The right to information is “a linking right,” said the group's director, Laura Neuman. She told stories about how people in developing countries—once they knew they had a right to information—were able to exercise their rights to proper schooling, government subsidies and working infrastructure.

A late Fulton County judge and the Carter Center's international effort to increase access to information were honored Oct. 19 at the Georgia First Amendment Foundation's annual dinner.

The group gave its “Open Government Hero” award posthumously to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Manis, who died in December at age 76.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Cohen spoke about Manis, who was his mentor when they both worked in the Georgia Department of Law.

He recalled Manis fielding calls for hours from citizens who were getting nowhere in their efforts to see public information from cities. “She couldn't file suit, but she helped” people so they understood their rights, he said.

Manis' view, Cohen said, was that, if government officials weren't giving citizens access to something they were entitled to see, “It usually means something illegal or improper is going on.”

Cohen said that, on the Fulton County bench, where she presided over cases from 1995 until shortly before her death last year, Manis approached motions to seal documents or close courtrooms like this: Show me where law allows the judge to do that and tell me why I should.

On the federal bench since 2014, Cohen said that, when parties bring similar requests his way, he asks himself, “What would Stephanie Manis do? And the answer is usually obvious.”

The foundation's annual dinner is named for the late Justice Charles Weltner of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The recipient of the Weltner Freedom of Information Award was the Carter Center's Global Access to Information Program, which assists governments in becoming more transparent and helps citizens learn how to access information that affects public affairs.

The right to information is “a linking right,” said the group's director, Laura Neuman. She told stories about how people in developing countries—once they knew they had a right to information—were able to exercise their rights to proper schooling, government subsidies and working infrastructure.