Court Requires More Specificity For Public Records Requests Seeking E-Mail

In an important case limiting how persons may probe e-mails maintained by political subdivisions, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that state law requires those seeking access to public e-mail must provide the details of what type of e-mail they are seeking. This holding could alleviate some of the burdens on cities, towns and counties who must produce public records, as it prevents what the Court described as "fishing expeditions" into public employees' e-mails without any meaningful restrictions on time or subject matter.

In Anderson v. Huntington County Commissioners, the Court of Appeals determined that a person seeking public records under the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) must meet the statute's requirement that a request be "reasonably particular" as to what it seeks. If a request does not satisfy this standard, the Court held that a political subdivision may deny the request outright.