A judge ruled Wednesday that the Alaska governor’s office can use private e-mail accounts to conduct state business, as former Gov. Sarah Palin sometimes did.
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Superior Court Judge Jack W. Smith said in his ruling that there is no provision in Alaska state law that prohibits the use of private e-mail accounts when conducting state business.
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The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Anchorage resident Andree McLeod, who contended such use of private e-mails denies citizens the right to inspect public records.
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I’m stunned, she said after Smith’s decision. I’m stunned that something as simple as no private e-mails should be used for state business has become such a complicated issue.
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State lawyers argued that McLeod misinterpreted current state law, and that if the practice is to be changed, it is up to Alaska lawmakers do it.
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Smith agreed with the state’s premise that public records are defined as those preserved for their informational value, or to document a public agency’s operation or organization, and that current open records law doesn’t specifically deal with private e-mails.
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The action will not affect current or future public records requests involving private e-mails if the e-mails meet the preservation criteria, said Department of Law spokesman Bill McAllister.
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Since the state can’t access private e-mails, such records would essentially be based on an honor system, although the governor’s office says it has a policy in place mandating that all private e-mails be forwarded to state accounts.
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Mike Mitchell, an assistant attorney general, called the ruling a very well-reasoned decision that the state’s open records law does not go as far as plaintiffs claimed.
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They raised some valid policy concerns in dealing with the 21st century technology, he said. Certainly some review of current law is appropriate, but that’s a matter for the Legislature and the legislative process rather than the court.
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A bill…