CARNEGIE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Crivella West Incorporated, an advanced analytics and investigational research company, announced today that it will be making available a searchable database for over 24,000 new emails from former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin’s administration that will be released as a result of public record requests originally made over two years ago. Crivella West is currently hosting the 2,544 emails that were released last year at www.crivellawest.net. Crivella West worked with msnbc.com, Mother Jones and Pro Publica in the release of those emails.
Crivella West is involved in this project because of the opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities and advanced methods for high-tech investigations as well as to feature our patented language analytics technology and allow journalists, news organizations and the public to utilize the technology for their benefit as well.
Crivella West also has an ongoing interest in leveling disparities in technology in legal discovery disputes and the access to public records. This particular release of documents by the State of Alaska illustrates some of the barriers in place for journalists and the public when trying to understand and investigate decisions made by elected officials and governmental agencies. Government’s failure to adopt current technology and modern methods thwart the long-standing public policy of freedom of information laws and access to public records. When the government participates in the legal process on behalf of the public, the same antiquated processes prevent the government from prosecuting its case to the fullest extent of the law.
What was acceptable in the last century is no longer acceptable in the 21st century. Today, nearly all communication records are stored electronically. Instead of making what were once electronic records available electronically, the State of Alaska is printing, on paper, individual copies of the records for each party requesting a set. This process has converted searchable electronic records into a mass of unorganized, laborious to interpret and impossible to search information. Modern methods would also enable the releasing party to easily and inexpensively identify and withhold confidential information, when permitted, without lengthy and expensive manual review, and thereby respond to an information request in weeks, not years.
Crivella West, at its own expense, is converting a paper copy back into a searchable digital copy, and will make the digital copies available to the public without charge. In addition, Crivella West will provide analytical tools to organize the documents to help users find information of interest. Crivella West is continuing its collaboration with msnbc.com, Mother Jones and Pro Publica.
Art Crivella, CEO and Co-Founder said: “It is Crivella West’s belief that real access to public records is an important right of our democracy and a necessary requirement for people to be actively engaged in their government. We believe there should be a standard for complying with FOIA requests, similar to the Production Format Standard developed by Crivella West for litigation, which creates a base level of usefulness for electronically stored information and allow the parties to access and analyze information just like people do in modern times- not pretend like modern technology is not available.”
Crivella West is a thought leader in language analytics. Powering investigations through advanced search and retrieval, we create and implement innovative technology and methods that revolutionize the way work is performed. We anticipate needs and bring science and automation to professional services and scholarly and investigative research.