Computerized records

Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

In attempting to settle a lawsuit between a Reno newspaper and Gov. Jim Gibbons, Carson City District Court Judge Bill Maddox on Thursday said a judicial review would decide whether Gibbons’ e-mails are public records.

The Reno Gazette-Journal had asked for six-months of Gibbons’ e-mail, and when the governor’s office flatly denied the request, the newspaper sued.

Because of the blanket denial, Scott Glogovac, the newspaper’s attorney, asked Maddox to order Gibbons to create an index of the e-mails. The index would allow the newspaper to independently verify whether the e-mails are public records without the paper being privy to the entire content of the messages.

Such indexes have been standard in federal public record cases since the early 1970s, but Maddox fretted about “private” e-mails being made public and denied Glogovac’s request. He said the index would cause the governor’s staff to “disclose things they may not need to disclose and I’m not going to do that.”

Unlike any other governor in recent memory, Gibbons has tried to shut the public out of the state’s business with various claims of privilege. His attorney told Maddox the e-mails are not public records and some are privileged or private.

State law and the Nevada Supreme Court, however, have clearly stated that the bias is toward making government records public, as it should be. And e-mails certainly fit all of the criteria of a public record. They are created or reviewed by state employees doing their state jobs using the state e-mail system.

Ironically, Gibbons has argued that government should be run more like a business, and in this case we agree heartily. In private business, owners can view e-mails their employees create or receive using a company-owned e-mail system.

Perhaps the governor has forgotten, but the “owner” of state government is the public. We hope that, if the Gazette-Journal appeals, the Nevada Supreme Court will recognize that and make this situation right and release the records.