Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Goldsmith loses to Briggs

San Diegans for Open Government wins case against city attorney

Emails from city attorney Jan Goldsmith's personal email address discussing city business are public record, ruled Judge Joel Wohlfeil in a January 23 ruling.

In his ruling, judge Wohlfeil sided with Cory Briggs/San Diegans for Open Government who asserted that Goldsmith and his attorneys violated the state public records act by refusing to turn over emails from Goldsmith's Yahoo account.

"The Court questions whether the city unreasonably narrowed the request such that it pertained only to email messages maintained on the private Yahoo server. If so, this can be interpreted as an evasive response intended to avoid responding. Rather than reject the [public records act] request in total, the city could have sought clarification per section 6253.1, or attempted to provide a partial response (as it later did). Thus, the city's initial response appears to be improper and Petitioner is entitled to a judicial declaration stating as much," Wohlfeil wrote in his ruling.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Admittedly, the City Attorney uses his personal email account to conduct City business because it is ‘convenient’ for the discharge of his official duties. Given the mandate that the [public records act] must be broadly construed, there is a strong policy argument that can be made in favor of disclosure of these emails. If the Court were to draw a bright line rule prohibiting any disclosure from a private account, then public officials could avoid the harsh light of public scrutiny whenever they desired by simply reverting to use of a private email account."

The ruling puts an end to a long and expensive legal battle for Goldsmith and his attorneys. Last year the city attorney asked for outside legal help on the case, a decision that cost the city more than $150,000 in legal fees plus in-house hours. But Goldsmith's argument was flawed from the beginning.

Cory Briggs asked to read Goldsmith's emails pertaining to city business in January 2014. Deputy city attorney Bill Gersten denied the request.

"Responding to your request, and as you likely are aware, the email [email protected] is not a city email address, nor does the city have access to such an individual's personal email account," Gersten wrote. "Consequently, any emails contained within that personal account are neither owned, used, prepared or retained by the City and thus are not public records within the meaning of California Government Code section 6252(e)."

Wohlfeil rejected that argument on January 23.

"The City's privacy argument may be characterized as a 'red herring,' or a logical fallacy. [San Diegans for Open Government]'s request is limited to emails that 'pertain in any way to the official business of the City of San Diego.' Such 'official business' could not, by definition be protected by the City Attorney's right to personal privacy. Stated another way, the City Attorney's personal business could not, under any interpretation, be included within the ‘official business’ of the City. The disclosure [San Diegans for Open Government] seeks is limited to a narrow subset of the City Attorney's emails: those pertaining to City business that have not already been forwarded to the City's email server."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yo-Yo Ma, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky come to San Diego

Emails from city attorney Jan Goldsmith's personal email address discussing city business are public record, ruled Judge Joel Wohlfeil in a January 23 ruling.

In his ruling, judge Wohlfeil sided with Cory Briggs/San Diegans for Open Government who asserted that Goldsmith and his attorneys violated the state public records act by refusing to turn over emails from Goldsmith's Yahoo account.

"The Court questions whether the city unreasonably narrowed the request such that it pertained only to email messages maintained on the private Yahoo server. If so, this can be interpreted as an evasive response intended to avoid responding. Rather than reject the [public records act] request in total, the city could have sought clarification per section 6253.1, or attempted to provide a partial response (as it later did). Thus, the city's initial response appears to be improper and Petitioner is entitled to a judicial declaration stating as much," Wohlfeil wrote in his ruling.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Admittedly, the City Attorney uses his personal email account to conduct City business because it is ‘convenient’ for the discharge of his official duties. Given the mandate that the [public records act] must be broadly construed, there is a strong policy argument that can be made in favor of disclosure of these emails. If the Court were to draw a bright line rule prohibiting any disclosure from a private account, then public officials could avoid the harsh light of public scrutiny whenever they desired by simply reverting to use of a private email account."

The ruling puts an end to a long and expensive legal battle for Goldsmith and his attorneys. Last year the city attorney asked for outside legal help on the case, a decision that cost the city more than $150,000 in legal fees plus in-house hours. But Goldsmith's argument was flawed from the beginning.

Cory Briggs asked to read Goldsmith's emails pertaining to city business in January 2014. Deputy city attorney Bill Gersten denied the request.

"Responding to your request, and as you likely are aware, the email [email protected] is not a city email address, nor does the city have access to such an individual's personal email account," Gersten wrote. "Consequently, any emails contained within that personal account are neither owned, used, prepared or retained by the City and thus are not public records within the meaning of California Government Code section 6252(e)."

Wohlfeil rejected that argument on January 23.

"The City's privacy argument may be characterized as a 'red herring,' or a logical fallacy. [San Diegans for Open Government]'s request is limited to emails that 'pertain in any way to the official business of the City of San Diego.' Such 'official business' could not, by definition be protected by the City Attorney's right to personal privacy. Stated another way, the City Attorney's personal business could not, under any interpretation, be included within the ‘official business’ of the City. The disclosure [San Diegans for Open Government] seeks is limited to a narrow subset of the City Attorney's emails: those pertaining to City business that have not already been forwarded to the City's email server."

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Next Article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.