Government emails on personal devices are public record, state’s top court decides

The San Jose Mercury News reports:

California’s highest court today unanimously ruled that the public has a right to see emails and text messages sent by government employees on personal devices, ending a decade-long legal battle that began in San Jose and setting a statewide precedent on public records.

“We hold that when a city employee uses a personal account to communicate about the conduct of public business, the writings may be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act,” the court opinion said. “If public officials could evade the law simply by clicking into a different email account, or communicating through a personal device, sensitive information could routinely evade public scrutiny,”

The ruling effectively closes a loophole that government watchdogs say was often used to keep communications secret.

“Government officials have been using this trick of communicating about public business on their personal email or text in order to avoid public scrutiny,” said Peter Scheer, former executive director of the First Amendment Coalition. “This is a great thing for the public. It means the people we elect to represent us won’t be able to avoid public scrutiny by using personal email accounts — rather than government ones.”

After San Jose in 2009 refused to release personal emails and texts about a downtown development, one man waged a legal battle that went all the way to the California Supreme Court. It set the groundwork for today’s 20-page ruling that those private communications are public record.

Ted Smith, a former lawyer with a background in nonprofit work, suspected that San Jose officials were using their private phones and email accounts to conceal dealings with former mayor Tom McEnery, who proposed a development in downtown San Jose. McEnery received a $6 million loan from the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

A civil rights victory in California.