VTPOLI

Court: VT Attorney General not exempt from public records law

April McCullum
Burlington Free Press

A Vermont judge has rejected the argument that the Vermont Attorney General's Office is exempt from state public records law and ordered the office to release some documents.

T.J. Donovan speaks at Hilton Hotel in Burlington after being elected Vermont attorney general on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.

The Attorney General's Office had argued in a March court hearing that because it is a law office, all of its work is governed by professional ethics rules such as attorney-client privilege and therefore exempt from mandatory public disclosure.

Earlier coverage:AG's office cites broad exemption from public records law

Washington Superior Court Judge Mary Miles Teachout ruled Thursday that "the Attorney General's office is not wholly exempt from the Public Records Act."

The case arose out of a public records request from Energy & Environment Legal Institute, a free-market group based in Washington, D.C. The group requested emails and other correspondence showing how Vermont and other states in a climate change coalition responded to public records requests. 

The Attorney General's Office denied the request, and EELI sued.

Judge Teachout ruled that the Attorney General's Office had no right to claim a blanket exemption from the law.

"While many records in the Attorney General's office no doubt qualify for specific exemptions due to nature of the legal work," Teachout wrote, "the public has a legitimate interest in transparency as to some of its undertakings, particularly those of an administrative or operational nature."

Therefore, Teachout wrote, the law "cannot be read to reflect legislative intent that all records in the Attorney General's Office would be completely exempt."

Matthew Hardin, an attorney for EELI, said the group sought similar records from multiple state attorney general's offices, and Vermont had been the only state to claim a blanket exemption. 

Chief Assistant Attorney General Bill Griffin said he was surprised by the ruling.

"We believe that law office files are confidential," Griffin said.

The office is considering all options, Griffin said, including an appeal.

"We'll do the right thing," Griffin said. "Not sure right now what that will be, but we'll be figuring that out."

In a separate case brought by EELI, the judge also ruled that former Attorney General William Sorrell could be added as a defendant in a public-records case seeking correspondence from his private email account.

More:State: Public records law generally excludes private email accounts

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum
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