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Ruling Backs Palin’s Use of Private E-Mail for State Work

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska judge has sided with former Gov. Sarah Palin in a lawsuit over e-mail messages, finding that state law does not forbid the use of private e-mail accounts to conduct state business.

The ruling Friday by Judge Patrick J. McKay of Anchorage Superior Court stems from a lawsuit filed by a critic of Ms. Palin, Andree McLeod. Ms. McLeod argued that Ms. Palin and the governor’s office had a responsibility to save e-mail messages related to state business as public records, regardless of the accounts they were sent through.

The issue arose from a 2008 records request by Ms. McLeod that showed that Ms. Palin and members of her staff had been using private e-mail accounts. The traffic uncovered, though, was heavily redacted for what were deemed reasons of privacy. Ms. McLeod argued through her lawyer that use of private accounts obstructed the people’s right to inspect public records.

But Michael Mitchell, state assistant attorney general, told Judge McKay that state officials should be able to decide what is or is not subject to public disclosure. In urging that the case be thrown out, Mr. Mitchell said last month that if the use of private accounts were to be banned for state business, the Legislature, not a court, should say so.

On Friday, Judge McKay agreed.

“The language in our case is clear — the Legislature simply chose to give state agencies some discretion in determining which e-mails are worthy of preservation and which are not,” he wrote. A records retention plan through the state archives also makes distinctions, he noted, and classifies messages not required to be retained as “transitory” messages, meant mainly for informal communications.

“The Legislature is free to take up the matter,” Judge McKay wrote, “but as the statutes are currently written, private e-mail accounts may be used to conduct state business, subject to the same laws and regulations related to preservation as e-mails originating from state servers.”

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I am glad to see this lawsuit behind her.. well, hopefully it is.