The Peoples’ Records

Maybe,
In a 2008 opinion that did not reach the exact issue, the Supreme Court held that emails from a public email system are public records. http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2008/2008-Ohio-4788.pdf. It would make sense that if a public official used a private email account to perform his or her job, then at least those emails related to public duties should be seen as public records. That means destruction of those emails might make the public official liable for $1,000 per email. Best practice: Public officials should use their public email system for the public’s business.

The basic philosophy of this site is that a Government not accountable to the public will run amok. Funds will be misspent, bad behavior will be covered up, and cronies will be rewarded. Ohio’s Public Records Statute provides a strong tool for citizen oversight, but it is underused. The statute provides the successful citizen with a chance to recover attorney’s fees spent in pursuit of public records and a $1000.00 penalty for each record destroyed improperly. These incentives led to the $983,000.00 settlement in Kish v. City of Akron in early 2007, a $90,000.00 settlement in Kelley v. Mogadore, and many other smaller settlements statewide.