The Arizona Supreme Court confirmed on Wednesday that "It is up to a judge, not government officials, to decide which messages generated from government email systems are private," according to the Arizona Republic.
The issue was previously covered in the post Saying Email Is Private Doesn't Make It Private. The case was the result as an effort to get the emails of suspended Pinal (AZ) County manager Stanley Griffis. He allegedly purchased guns and ammunition with public funds. But the investigation grew until, according to AZ Central, Griffis pleading guilty to six felonies, agreeing to pay over half-a-million dollars in restitution and the possibility of serving up to 51 years in prison.
The Arizona Republic requested copies of Griffis' email. But, Griffis challenged saying that some of the emails were private. One possible outcome would have been that all emails that were sent or received on a government-owned email system were by definition on the public record. That is the position in some other states. But, in Arizona, officials now have the chance to claim that certain emails are not public. In the Griffis case, a court will review those emails to determine which messages should be released as public record.
"In camera (court) review of disputed documents ... reinforces this Court's previous holding that the courts, rather than government officials, are the final arbiter of what qualifies as a public record," states the opinion of the Supreme Court of Arizona. "Griffis bears the burden of establishing that the e-mails are not public records."
"The important principle in the case was that personal email, including personal email of a government employee is not in and of itself a public record," Tim Berg, an attorney representing Griffis' public records case, said.
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