Government email correspondence: Public record vs. private relationships

Cyndy Aleo-Carreira — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:44:52 -0700

One of the oddest lawsuits involving email has reached an ambigous milestone. The Burlington Free Press, part of Gannett Vermont Publishing, sued the City of Burlington to obtain emails sent between a former City Attorney, a zoning consultant to the city, and the former Chief Administrative Officer. Articles in the paper have accused the three individuals of engaging in at least one business arrangement involving alleged conflicts of interest. The Press requested the emails under the state's Public Records Law.

In his decision, however, Judge Brian Grearson ruled that the emails would not be released due to their personal nature, acknowledging that they did indicate personal relationships and a conflict of interest. Grearson withheld over 1,500 pages of documents, even though the emails were sent from state email accounts.

The Burlington Free Press has not indicated whether it will appeal the decision, but the idea that personal emails sent using government (or company) email systems can still be considered private, even when they seem to serve as evidence of ethics violations, may lead to a long battle in appeals court.