Possession is nine tenths* of the law

* or;

• ten tenths, or

•  "...eleven points in the law, and they say there are but twelve."

depending on your source.

I can remember as a child arguing over ownership of marbles.
At some point, the person holding the marble(s) in dispute, would claim; possession is nine points under the law".  For some reason, that allowed them to leave with the marble(s.

Why that worked in elementary school, or how we came to know about it remains unclear.

" See Spot run. Hear Dick quote obscure law for Jane" ?

When it comes to public records and access to public meetings, "possession" is the name of the game; they belong to the politicians and public servants who hold them.  This though their sole possession of their own public record creates an appearance of a conflict of interests as egregious as it is blatantly obvious.

According to Wikipedia, wikilink, as recently as this morning;

Although the principle is an oversimplification, it can be restated as: "In a property dispute (whether real or personal), in the absence of clear and compelling testimony or documentation to the contrary, the person in actual, custodial possession of the property is presumed to be the rightful owner. ...

The shirt or blouse you are currently wearing is presumed to be yours, unless someone can prove that it is not."

In practice; public records belong the Records Custodian
until you can prove in court, that they do not.

When you sue for records, you litigate on your own.
When public records custodians' show up in court, they enjoy cost-is-no-object "legal" defenses provided for them by taxpayers and by politicians and public servants meeting in secret and spending without real oversight and in their own interests.

Eight years ago, a number of investigations were conducted into allegations of felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators.  At the very least;

• Money was removed from evidence and spent without record, (a felony under state law) and 

• NCIC criminal background checks were done on whistleblowers and a deputy supt's girl friend, (a felony under federal law).

APS has been spending operational dollars on lawyers and legal weaselry for eight years in order to not produce the findings of those investigations.

They have never justified keeping the findings secret.
They don't have to; you can't make them.

They have spent and are spending operational dollars without limit, in order to hide records for no reason except to spare politicians and public servants embarrassment, shame, and or indictment.

They are yet to offer even one good and ethical reason to secret the truth.  It is enough that their lawyers have only to argue that the law "allows" them.

The records are being hidden to cover up a cover up, and
(weaknesses in) the law allows it.