It is difficult to get through a single news cycle these days without reading about a public official using private means to communicate regarding public business. The New York Times recently reported that when Vice President Mike Pence was governor of Indiana, he used a private AOL email account in addition to his government account for communications related to his official duties. Despite his intense criticism of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Presidential Campaign regarding her use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State, the Vice President apparently used his AOL account to discuss topics such as Indiana’s response to terrorist attacks. According to the New York Times, last summer, his account was hacked, and all of his contacts received an email requesting money because he and his wife were stranded in the Philippines. See “ Mike Pence Used Private Email as Governor, News Report Says,” New York Times, March 2, 2017. Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently settled an open records lawsuit about his use of personal email for public business.

Public officials may turn to private email and messaging services to evade public scrutiny of potentially embarrassing information. In California at least, avoiding public disclosure just became much more difficult. On March 2nd, the California Supreme Court held in City of San Jose v. Superior Court, No. S218066, — P.3d —, 2017 WL 818506 (Cal. March 2, 2017), that communications sent through personal email are subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) if the communications concern public business.

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