April 18, 2011

E-mails between government workers are public documents

E-mails between government workers are public documents
Cowles Publishing Co. v Kootenai County Board of Supervisors, 2007 Opinion No. 74

The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that e-mail correspondence between government employees is public record. The e-mail correspondence at issue was between a supervisor and a subordinate, both of whom were employees of the county.

Essentially, the court held that “The emails exchanged by public employees are public records and are not exempt from disclosure under either [Idaho] statutory exemptions or constitutional law.”

The full text of the ruling is posted at: