STATE OF MICHIGAN

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF SHIAWASSEE

BRANDI BITTERMAN,
Petitioner,

Case No.: 14-6693-CZ

Honorable Matthew Stewart

v.
MOTION
VILLAGE OF OAKLEY,
Respondent

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PHILIP L. ELLISON (P74117)
OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL PLC
Attorney for Petitioner
PO Box 107
Hemlock, MI 48626
(989) 642-0055
(888) 398-7003 - fax
pellison@olcplc.com

RICHARD A. HAMILTON (P14574)

Attorney for Respondent Village of Oakley
702 Church St
Flint, MI 48502
(810) 767-6860
(810) 767-2817 - fax
attorney.richard.hamilton@gmail.com

MOTION TO LEAVE TO AMEND, IN PART, THE

PROTECTIVE ORDER OF THE DISCLOSED RECORDS
OF RESERVIST ROBERT JAMES RITCHIE (aka KID ROCK)
NOW COMES Petitioner Brandi Bitterman, by and through counsel, and seeks
leave to lift the protective provisions, in part, of the APPLICATION TO BECOME A RESERVE
OFFICER/CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM MEMBER for Village of Oakley reservist
ROBERT JAMES RITCHIE as previously ordered disclosed by the Court for the
following reasons:
1.

This case started a FREEDOM

OF

INFORMATION ACT case whereby the

Petitioner sought the identities of individuals having applied for and/or given the
designation of the police reservist in the Village of Oakley, County of Saginaw, State of
Michigan.

2.

It was suspected and believed that certain Village of Oakley officials were

secretly appointing these individuals in exchange for donations to a fund operated by

the Village and/or certain key individuals, dubbed as a pay-to-play scheme for public
police officer appointment in violation of MCL 70.13 - 70.14.
3.

It was further questioned whether the individuals who obtained these

appointments did so primarily for the added benefit of obtaining a non-restricted

concealed weapons permit under Michigans FIRE ARMS ACT (i.e. exempted from the

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Michigan pistol-free zones like day care centers, sports stadiums, certain taverns and
bars, churches, casinos, college classrooms, and certain entertainment facilities).
4.

The Village, despite having less than three hundred residents in its one

mile by one mile territorial jurisdiction, has legally fought in this Court and even harder in
the Saginaw County Circuit Court, the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the Michigan
Supreme Court to prevent the public disclosure of this information.
5.

The Village of Oakley sought to keep the names of its police reservists

secret and the operations of its program a secret from the public.
6.

On March 5, 2015, this Court entered an order following an evidentiary

hearing on March 4, 2015 ordering the Village of Oakley to conduct a thorough search
of all Village records and identify those records responsive to Plaintiffs FOIA request
and provide all such documents to Plaintiff, through her counsel, within 30 days from
the date of entry of this Order. Order After Evidentiary Hearing, 2-3.
7.

Typically, records released by a FOIA request are in the public domain

without any further exemptions permitted. See Chesapeake Bay Found, Inc v US Army
Corps of Engineers, 722 F Supp 2d 66 (DDC 2010).

8.

This Court ordered, sua sponte, that all such documents containing

confidential information shall be subject to a protective order pursuant to MCR 2.302

with confidential information defined by the Court to mean any personally identifying
information about police reservists except their names. Order After Evidentiary
Hearing, 5.
9.

However, the Court further directed that the confidential material will not,

absent leave of Court, be communicated in any way to anyone except the attorneys and

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parties. Order After Evidentiary Hearing, 7.

10.

On or about April 3, 2015, the Village compiled with this Courts order and

submitted a huge box of copied materials containing records of the reservists of the
Village of Oakley.
11.

Since that time, efforts have been made to go over the materials with

numerous questions raised about how and why individuals who have become a
reservists in light of the alleged pay-to-play scheme
12.

One such person revealed and identified as a Village of Oakley Police

Reservist is ROBERT JAMES RITCHIE who is permissibly named pursuant to

Paragraph 5 of the Order After Evidentiary Hearing, dated March 5, 2015.
13.

ROBERT JAMES RITCHIE is known by his stage name Kid Rock, an

American singer-songwriter, rapper, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor of

international renown.
14.

Village of Oakley Police Chief Robert Reznick has been quoted as

explaining that the roles of reservists (if to be believed) is like volunteers, as they don't

have the power to make arrests and tend to help with cooking hot dogs at community
events or inspecting Halloween candy. See Exhibit A.
15.

There are real questions of public importance as to why and how the

Village of Oakley Police Chief would come into contact with such an international rock
star and why this international rock star would have any legitimate interest in such
volunteer activities such as cooking hot dogs at community events or inspecting
Halloween candy, assuming the same was even undertaken as suggested by Chief

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Robert Reznick.
16.

The need to reveal this information will allow the citizens of Village of

Oakley to debate the merits of the Village of Oakley police reserve program; what role, if
any, an international rock star like Kid Rock could or should serve this tiny village as a
reserve officer or member of the critical incidence response team; and allow the citizens
and residents the ability to decide whether the Village of Oakley police reserve program
is actually a pay-to-play scheme.
17.

Counsel for Petitioner will bring a copy of said public record with him at the

hearing to allow the court to review the same in camera and has not attached the
document hereto.
18.

It is understood and accepted that the certain information like social

security numbers, drivers license numbers, addresses, and telephone numbers could
reasonable be redacted, but the public has the right to know the qualifications and
credentials of how an international rock star serves in such a public position with the tiny
Village of Oakley in rural southern Saginaw County.

19.

FOIA directs that [i]t is the public policy of this state that all persons... are

entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the
official acts of those who represent them as public officials and public employees,
consistent with this act. MCL 15.231(2).
RELIEF REQUESTED
WHEREFORE, the Court is requested to grant leave, in part, pursuant to
Paragraph 7 of the Order After Evidentiary Hearing, dated March 5, 2015, to allow for

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the release of a redacted copy of application of reservist ROBERT JAMES RITCHIE

consistent with the intent, goal, and purposes of the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT as to
know the official acts of those who represent them as public officials.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

PROOF OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that a
copy of the foregoing document(s)
was served on parties or their
attorney of record in the above
cause by mailing the same to them at
their respective business address as
disclosed by the pleadings of record
herein with postage fully prepaid
thereon on the

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BY PHILIP L. ELLISON (P74117)
Attorney for Plaintiff

13th day of April, 2015

Date: April 13, 2015

PHILIP L. ELLISON