In First Win for NEFAC Legal Fund, Judge Rules Privacy Claims Don’t Justify Blanket Redactions
A Maine Superior Court judge ordered the City of Bath to release police records about a 2024 domestic-violence murder-suicide. It is the first courtroom victory for the New England First Amendment Coalition‘s legal fund which supported the newsrooms that sued.
In a Sept. 8 order, Justice Daniel Billings of the Sagadahoc County Superior Court granted the public records requests of The Times Record and WMTW-TV, subject to minimal redactions to protect witness privacy and graphic imagery captured by police body cameras. Bath Police had previously released records that were nearly entirely redacted.
“We now can learn more about how this horrible tragedy unfolded and whether it could have been prevented,” NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman said. “This is a win for transparency and accountability — and one that wouldn’t have occurred without the persistence of local journalists backed by our legal fund.”
The Times Record and WMTW-TV are represented by attorneys Sigmund Schutz and Alexandra A. Harriman at Preti Flaherty.
In October 2024, officers from the Bath Police Department responded to reports of a shooting at a residence. When they arrived at the home, they found the bodies of Lisa Bailey and her daughter Jennifer, both killed by their respective husband and father Michael Bailey who also killed himself.
The public’s interest in learning about BPD’s interactions with the Baileys in the days prior to their deaths weighs heavily against the risk of violating personal privacy interests.
Maine Superior Court Sept. 8 Order
The murders generated widespread news coverage. Local reporting revealed that officers had been to the home at least twice in the days leading up to the murders. On Sept. 24, officers responded to calls reportedly made because of domestic violence, possibly involving an assault with a knife. No arrests were made. According to a witness, officers carried a couple of rifles from the home but said they soon carried them back inside the residence.
On Oct. 2, both Lisa and Jennifer went to the Bath Police Department to fill out statements. Four days later, both of them had been murdered.
The newsrooms obtained reports from the police visits to the Bailey residence prior to the murders, but the pages are so heavily redacted that it’s impossible to know what happened or how the police responded.
With support from the NEFAC Legal Fund, The Times Record and WMTW sued the City of Bath last spring claiming that the redactions are a violation of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act. In his decision, Justice Billings ordered all the requested documents to be released subject to only minimal redactions.
The court found that the victims had little or no privacy interests to protect. Surviving family members also had no privacy interests that would justify withholding or redacting the requested records. While some redaction may be allowed to protect the privacy of witnesses, the public’s interest in learning about police interaction with the Baileys “weighs heavily against the risk of violating personal privacy interests,” Justice Billings wrote.
Launched in 2025 with a four-year, $250,000 commitment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the NEFAC Legal Fund supports journalism and open government litigation across the six New England states. It helps cases in which NEFAC is a party and is also used to offset litigation costs for others fighting their own legal battles. The fund is used only when sufficient financial and legal support isn’t otherwise available.
Please donate to the NEFAC Legal Fund and help us meet our matching grant requirements. Only with your help can we continue to support cases like this one.
NEFAC is the region’s leading defender of the First Amendment and open government. The coalition began in 2006 to advance and protect the five freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society.
Our coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and contributors. In particular, we would like to recognize the Estate of Gloria L. Negri, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the following Leadership Circle donors: Rhode Island Foundation, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, The Harbus Foundation, Boston University, the Champa Charitable Foundation and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters of NEFAC’s work include Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Gravel & Shea PC, the Academy of New England Journalists, Truro News and Patrisha McLean.