Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Constitutional Law Blogs -> Chris King's 1st Amendment Page

Constitutional Law

: Chris King's 1st Amendment Page

Florida, Wisconsin, Missouri AGs and Tennessee counsel clash with NH AG Ayotte, NH State House on nature of public emails.

By Christopher King

You better believe it. And you better believe this will be in the record when I sue Martha McLeod over her emails relating to tabled HB 1428 to honor "rogue, classic bully cop hiding behind his badge" Norman Bruce McKay. Here's the draft lawsuit. Senator Letourneau had the good sense to bow out and produce his emails; read the State policy in the thumbnails claiming only emails to committees are public. Wrong answer guys.

First here's Florida.

Second here's Wisconsin.

Third here's Tennessee's issue involving Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and 9-A commissioner Victoria DeFreese"

"Law Director John Owings and Chief Deputy Law Director Mary Ann Stackhouse cited Tennessee Code Annotated 10-7-301(6) in offering that opinion, which defined public records as all documents, papers, letters, electronic data files, and similar material ?made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental agency?.

When asked if that included a constituent?s letters or emails to a commissioner, Owings replied, ?If it is in connection with the transaction of official business, then the answer is yes.?

Owings also stated that, in the case of email, it wouldn?t matter if such communication was sent to the commissioner?s government account or to any private account the commissioner has.

?If [an email] relates to the transaction of official business, it wouldn?t matter if it were sent to an official Knox County account or a private account. It would be public record, in my estimation,? Owings said."

Fourth, from The FOI Advocate blog on Missouri:

"The Missouri attorney general's office sent a message to media outlets Monday emphasizing that e-mails on the state system are public records and often should be preserved. The office was reacting to reports that Gov. Matt Blunt's staff routinely purges e-mails and does not consider them public records. James Klahr, the attorney general's lead lawyer on Missouri's open-records "Sunshine Law," sent the message to dismiss the "unnecessary debate" over the issue."

The message does not mention Blunt but declares, "There should be no debate ? e-mail communications are public records."

Viva the First Amendment.

PS: In Arizona -- as in Ohio, Florida and many other states -- discipline records of public employees is about to be open record. See HB 2159. So while other states open access to government New Hampshire profoundly restricts it. Nice.

Full post as published by Chris King's 1st Amendment Page on July 03, 2008 (boomark / email).