No Reply to Enriquez's FOIA Request for Legal Fees

Ten days after his FOIA request for disclosure of state legal fees, Jeremy Enriquez reports no acknowledgement from the Attorney General’s Office; however, the two-week deadline remains due in the week of September 1, 2025.

Enriquez informed The Reporter that as of August 28 he has not received even an acknowledgement of receipt. His six-page application, dated August 18, 2025, seeks a full accounting of payments made by the Government of Belize to attorneys and law firms engaged in election-related litigation this year.

The request asks for amounts paid to each lawyer or firm involved in defending challenges to the 2025 General Elections and electoral boundaries, covering cases filed since January 1, 2025, and for each payment to be itemized by name and total amount. The application cites Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act as the basis for disclosure and notes that Section 16 requires a response within two weeks of the request.

According to Enriquez, the information sought concerns State expenditures in litigation over constituency sizes and electoral fairness. He previously referenced public interest considerations and past controversies over government legal spending as context for why routine disclosure should apply to these cases.

The FOIA application remains pending. By statute, the response period runs two weeks from August 18, placing the deadline in the week beginning September 1, 2025.