Kenny won’t release cell phone log

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Defying a recent state Supreme Court decision on cellular phone records, Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny is refusing to give up her log of calls.

Kenny, the only commissioner with reservations, intends to meet with the district attorney's office about the ruling today, according to county spokesman Doug Bradford. Until she discusses the law with county attorneys, she will not produce her records, she said.

The other six board members had no qualms about releasing records.

The Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision levied by District Judge Kathy Hardcastle, who ruled the records could remain secret under the "deliberative process privilege."

In his Aug. 20 ruling, Supreme Court Justice Bill Maupin said those privileges apply to decision-makers' opinions and recommendations that might be discussed in interagency memos or letters.

Cell phone records are fact and therefore not protected on the same grounds, Maupin said.

The case was taken to court after Clark County released requested cellular phone records with the last four digits blacked out in both the incoming and outgoing telephone numbers.

County officials argued disclosing some numbers would violate the privacy of citizens whose phone numbers are not listed. The Supreme Court, however, had a different view of the matter.

"The act of placing a cellular call to a private citizen places the number called within a public domain," the court's ruling said. "Members of the public who knowingly place calls to government-issued cellular phones know that the public billings will reflect their unlisted telephone number."

Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams said Wednesday she never had a problem releasing her records and agrees with the Supreme Court decision.

"I don't need a Supreme Court ruling," Williams said. "I have nothing to hide."

When the requests were first made about two years ago, Clark County Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury suggested that only records from that time forward be released so that elected officials and their constituents would be forewarned.

Woodbury said Wednesday his only concerns were that records could be misinterpreted, because board members may be unable to remember exactly what a particular call was about. There is no reason for the county to appeal the ruling, he said.

"I don't know who we would appeal it to," Woodbury said. "There is no federal issue, and there is no constitutional issue."

Kenny did not return a phone message Wednesday night.