Notice of Appeal Filed: Thacker v. City of Phoenix
Plaintiff Jeremy Thacker has filed a Notice of Appeal in the Open Meeting Law special action against the City of Phoenix, sending the matter to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
On May 6, 2026, Plaintiff Jeremy Thacker filed a Notice of Appeal in Thacker v. City of Phoenix, Maricopa County Superior Court Case No. CV2025-026278. The matter now moves to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
The case is a statutory special action under A.R.S. § 38-431.07. It tests three Phoenix City Council practices: a single November 2024 vote pre-approving 17 executive-session dates for all of 2025; agenda labels reading only “Community Citizen Comment” for closed-door sessions; and reliance on the legal-advice exception to keep policy deliberations out of public view.
The trial court granted summary judgment for the City on February 27, 2026, and final judgment was entered on April 7, 2026. Even ruling for the City, Judge Scott Minder wrote that he was “not endorsing the City’s occasionally shifting justification for withholding documents,” and noted that the City could adopt the plaintiff’s proposed voting process “to avoid future questions about secrecy from its residents.”
Plaintiff Jeremy Thacker is a member of GOOD|GOAT. The organization had not yet been formed when this matter began, and GOOD|GOAT is not a party. Our role is research, indexing, and coverage. The full case page, docket, and filings are at /cases/thacker-v-phoenix-oml.