A judge’s order that law enforcement provide an inventory of records related to the 2015 accidental police shooting death of a Burlington mother is under review following a vote Thursday by the Iowa Public Information Board.

It’s the latest step in a controversial 2 ½-year public records battle in which the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Burlington Police Department have been charged with violation of the state’s open records law.

“It’s just one further effort” that will delay an “administrative law judge getting to the merit of this case,” said Mark McCormick, a former Iowa Supreme Court justice hired by the information board to prosecute the case, said Thursday during an appeal hearing on the matter.

The case is about Autumn Steele, 34, who was fatally shot outside her home and in front of her toddler by Burlington police officer Jesse Hill while responding to a domestic disturbance. Steele had spent the prior night in jail after being arrested for allegedly assaulting her husband, and she was allegedly screaming and hitting him again when police arrived at the home just before the shooting

A 12-second clip of the video from Hill’s body camera released by authorities shows he fired his gun twice without warning after a growling dog is heard, fatally wounding Steele. While it’s not apparent on the 12-second video clip that has been released, the German shepherd jumped on Hill’s back and bit his thigh, causing injuries that required treatment, authorities said.

Hill was cleared in 2015 of wrongdoing by his department and returned to the police force.

The family and the Burlington Hawk Eye newspaper continue to fight to see the full video and other records in the case, which Iowa says they can keep forever secret and won’t release.

The issue rests largely on whether Iowa law allows such records to be withheld.

The Iowa Public Information Board has filed an administrative contested case against the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation and the Burlington Police Department, citing them for public records violations in response to complaints from Steele’s family and the Burlington newspaper.

Administrative Law Judge Karen Doland last month ordered Burlington and the public safety department to provide an inventory and general description of records as part of a legal discovery in the case.

Burlington and the safety department are fighting Doland’s order, arguing an inventory is not relevant to the question about whether the state violated Iowa’s open records law. Those groups asked the public information board for a so-called “interlocutory” review, which the board unanimously granted Thursday.

The information board, which is prosecuting the case, could decide as early as Aug. 17 whether to compel Burlington and the safety department to abide by the order and produce the records inventory.

McCormick argued that it’s impossible to determine if or to what extent the law has been violated without knowing the universe of records that exist.

A trial in the case is scheduled before an administrative law judge next month but it’s possible that will be further delayed, partly because of the ongoing review approved by the information board on Thursday.

The judge can recommend the release of the records and fines up to $2,500 for each agency, which the information board can accept or reject. Any final board action can be appealed by the involved parties to district courts.

“It’s a significant issue,” said Jeff Peterzalek, an attorney for the Iowa Attorney General’s office who is representing the safety department. “It (a records violation) is still is an offense that could have people lose their jobs. It’s a big deal and we’re making it a big deal because it is in fact a big deal.”

Other news from the Iowa Public Information Board:

Margaret Johnson, longtime deputy director of the Iowa Public Information Board, was promoted to director. Johnson, in December, was named interim director after Charlie Smithson resigned to take a job working as secretary of the Iowa Senate.

The board Thursday also dismissed a complaint involving records the University of Iowa claimed were confidential because copyright overrides public records law. Documentarian Doug Krejci agreed to drop the complaint after the UI provided him watermarked copies of the records he sought.

The dismissal does nothing, however, to settle the argument: Can a government block public records by claiming copyright exemption? It’s possible the issue will return to the board in future complaints, Johnson said.