A unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court ruling says government-related emails stored in officials’ personal email accounts may be public records under the state’s Open Public Records Act.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that government officials cannot shield public business from disclosure simply by conducting it through personal email accounts.
In a unanimous decision issued June 11, the court held that logs of government-related emails contained within private email accounts are government records subject to disclosure under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
The case stemmed from an OPRA request filed by transparency advocate Alex Rosetti seeking email logs from current and former members of the Ramapo-Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Education.
Dispute centered on personal email accounts
Rosetti requested records that included “email logs of all past and current Board members for all email accounts in which they have conducted or discussed Board of Education matters.”
The Board produced a redacted log generated from official government-issued email accounts but declined to provide records from personal email accounts used by board members to discuss district business.
After a trial court sided with the Board, the Appellate Division reversed the decision and found that emails discussing public business could be subject to disclosure even when stored in private accounts.
The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed with that conclusion, although it narrowed the scope of what records must be produced.
Court says government business remains public
Writing for the unanimous court, Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis emphasized that the location of a record does not determine whether it is subject to OPRA.
The court relied in part on previous decisions holding that public records remain subject to disclosure regardless of who maintains them or where they are stored.
“Logs of government-related emails contained in personal email accounts are government records under OPRA,” the court held.
The justices ruled that public officials must search their private email accounts for communications involving government business and create logs identifying those emails.
The court said officials may use various methods to conduct those searches but must provide certifications explaining the searches performed so courts can evaluate whether they were adequate if challenged.
Ruling limits scope of disclosure
While siding with Rosetti on the central issue, the court also found that his original request was overly broad.
The justices rejected the idea that entire personal email accounts automatically become public records simply because some government-related emails may be contained within them.
Instead, the court drew a distinction between personal communications and government business conducted through private accounts.
“It is only the log of government-related emails that is a government record,” the court stated.
The ruling means agencies cannot avoid OPRA obligations by conducting official business through private email accounts, but personal emails unrelated to government functions remain protected.
Court issues warning to public officials
The decision also included a warning directed at government agencies and public officials throughout New Jersey.
The court said agencies should strongly advise employees, elected officials, and others conducting public business to avoid using personal email accounts for government-related communications.
The ruling affirms the Appellate Division’s decision while modifying its scope.
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and Justices Anne Patterson, Rachel Wainer Apter, Lee Solomon Fasciale, Douglas Noriega, and Michael Hoffman joined the unanimous opinion.
Key Points
• The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that government-related emails stored in personal email accounts can be public records under OPRA.
• Public officials must search private email accounts for government-related communications and produce logs of those emails when required.
• The court clarified that only government-related emails are subject to disclosure, not entire personal email accounts.