Access To Emails Of Public Officials & Employees On Their Private Accounts.

A man asserted a right to inspect specified written communications, including email and text messages, sent to or received by public official and employees on their private electronic devices using their private accounts. The appellate court said the issue is whether those private communications, which are not stored on City servers and are not directly accessible by the City, are nonetheless “public records” within the meaning of the California Public Records Act [CPRA; Government Code section 6250], and concluded:  “We conclude that the Act does not require public access to communications between public officials using exclusively private cell phones or email accounts.” (City of San Jose v. Sup. Ct. (Ted Smith) (Cal. App. Sixth Dist.; March 27, 2014) (As mod. April 10 and 18, 2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 75, [169 Cal.Rptr.3d 840].)