[WEBINAR] Exploring the CPRA’s Investigatory Privilege
[WEBINAR] Social Media Meets the First Amendment
[WEBINAR] The Public Records Act - Taming the Email Tiger
The California Supreme Court recently issued an opinion that analyzes the public disclosure of police body camera footage and demonstrates the overlap between e-Discovery processes and other records production schemes. The...more
When does a public employee’s personal privacy interests outweigh the public’s right to access records? Originally Published in PublicCEO - July 18,2018....more
The use of private email servers and communications devices by government officials was a major issue in the 2016 election, from the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email practices to the hacking of a private email account...more
Holland & Knight issued an alert in June 2015, written by Allison Martin Rhodes and Craig S. Weinstein, regarding an earlier California Court of Appeal ruling in this case. This alert provides an update after a December 2016...more
Okay, maybe slightly longer than 60 seconds. The point being, though, that CEQA case updates really should not read like law school case briefs. Long discussion of the lower court’s findings? No thank you. ...more
In part 1 of this two-part series we discussed how the City of San Jose v. Superior Court (Smith) will forever change the nature of public service. In part 2, we will offer practical suggestions to respond to this change. ...more
In part 1 of this two-part series we’ll discuss how the City of San Jose v. Superior Court (Smith) will forever change the nature of public service. In part 2, we will offer practical suggestions to respond to this change. ...more
In City of San Jose v. Superior Court, No. S218066 (Cal. Mar. 2, 2017), the Supreme Court of California decided unanimously that communications made or stored on a public employee's personal account, including emails sent...more
The California Supreme Court has finally decided a question that has, for years, vexed courts, public officials, the media and citizen watchdogs: Are electronic communications — emails, voicemails and texts — on private...more
In deciding last week that communications on public agency employees’ private devices may be subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act, the California Supreme Court included some direction to help make the...more
In a major development impacting all public entities subject to the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 6250 et seq., hereafter “CPRA”), on March 2, 2017, the California Supreme Court unanimously held that public...more
On March 2, 2017, the California Supreme Court ruled in City of San Jose v. Superior Court that where a public employee uses a personal email account or texts to communicate about the conduct of public business, those...more
On March 2, 2017, in what is easily the sunniest day in this long, wet winter, the Supreme Court of California issued a landmark ruling regarding the California Public Records Act (Cal. Govt. Code § 6250 et seq.), holding...more
In Disney’s The Lion King, the wise lion Mufasa sits atop a rock crag with his heir, the cub Simba, looking down on the Serengeti below. “Everything the light touches,” Mufasa instructs, “is our kingdom.” A similar scene...more
Attorney invoices may be protected in their entirety by the attorney-client privilege during ongoing litigation. After litigation has concluded, however, those same invoices may be discoverable. So concludes the California...more
In a 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that attorney invoices submitted to public agencies are not categorically exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Los Angeles County Board of...more
In a case that pitted government transparency against a public agency’s interest in confidential communications with its attorney, the California Supreme Court came down on the side of protecting attorney-client privileged...more
Decision Expected Soon from California Supreme Court - Public agencies in California should prepare for the likelihood that communications on officials’ and employees’ private devices related to the agency’s “conduct of...more
On October 6, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in Los Angeles Board of Supervisors v. Superior Court, a case that we have blogged about twice in the past because of its possible impact on policyholders...more
In a unanimous opinion addressing a legal issue of statewide importance, the California Supreme Court resolved a split of authority and held that a governmental entity’s inadvertent release of privileged documents under the...more
California Supreme Court Gives Public Agencies Safety Net - A public agency’s inadvertent disclosure of privileged documents under the Public Records Act does not waive the privilege, the California Supreme Court has...more
Last year, I wrote about the Second Appellate District case of Ardon v. City of Los Angeles. In Ardon, the appellate court found that a public agency can waive statutory privileges that it otherwise would have if it produces...more
The California Supreme Court has granted review of a controversial Public Records Act ruling and will decide whether the well-recognized protection for attorney-client privileged documents inadvertently disclosed during the...more