RALEIGH -- Saying government agencies can't be trusted to police themselves in public records disputes, the state Supreme Court handed a victory to an employees association in a fight with the State Treasurer's Office.
The Supreme Court overturned the dismissal of a 2008 public records lawsuit filed by the State Employees Association of North Carolina against the State Treasurer's Office.
SEANC was looking for records from former Treasurer Richard Moore in response to a Forbes magazine article that asserted that Moore's ability to choose money managers and investment funds gave him a massive fundraising advantage.
SEANC requested records about investments and complained for months that it didn't get all that it asked for. Moore's office continued to assert that the request had been fulfilled. The 55,000-member association sued in the middle of Moore's campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor. A judge dismissed the case before witnesses were deposed.
But the Supreme Court decided in an opinion published last week that state officials or agencies should not be the ones to decide whether they have complied with a records request that is in dispute. Courts should make those determinations, wrote Justice Edward Thomas Brady in the unanimous decision.
"Judicial review of a state agency's compliance with a request, prior to the categorical dismissal of this type of complaint, is critical to ensuring that, as noted above, public records and information remain the property of the people of North Carolina," he wrote in an opinion that begins with an affirmation of the principle of "sovereignty of the people."
"Otherwise, the state agency would be permitted to police its own compliance with the Public Records Act, a practice not likely to promote these important policy goals."
The decision sends the case back to a judge. A spokeswoman for current Treasurer Janet Cowell declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
"This ruling is a victory for state employees' retirement security, open government and public accountability from its elected officials," said SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope in a statement.
John Bussian, a lawyer and lobbyist for the N.C. Press Association, called the ruling the most pointed statement for open government by the Supreme Court in 20 years.
"We've reached a point where the basic principles of North Carolina's open government law need to be re inforced," Bussian said. "It's even more important that we not let the government police its own public records compliance."
