Judge again tells Shasta County to hand over public records to the Record Searchlight
For the second time in a month, Shasta County officials were told by a judge they must, without delay, turn over to the Record Searchlight documents the newspaper first requested 21 months ago.
The most recent ruling came Wednesday, when Shasta County Superior Court Judge Stephen Baker denied the county's request to delay his initial order, which was issued April 10.
"The court's already made a decision on this. I feel very confident about this," Baker said during a hearing in Redding on the county's request for a new trial and to set aside his earlier ruling.
The Record Searchlight had requested as far back as Aug. 2, 2021 emails, letters and other communications between members of the county Board of Supervisors, other top county officials and former Sheriff Eric Magrini about sheriff's office management issues.
The newspaper had also asked for copies of an investigative report the county ordered in 2021 to look into complaints about sheriff's department management under Magrini.
Prior to filing a lawsuit, the paper sent the county three separate requests for documents under the California Public Records Act. The county denied all the requests.
The county also claimed the amount of communications the newspaper requested was "overbroad and burdensome in scope."
The county said the documents were exempt from being released because they were confidential communications. The county also claimed the investigative report was exempt from release to the public because it was attorney-client communications and was legal work produced for the county.
After failing to obtain the records from the County Counsel's Office, the newspaper filed a lawsuit last year asking a judge to order the county to turn over the material.
After a trial in January, Baker issued a decision on April 10 requiring the county to provide all the documents the paper requested within 15 days. The judge also said the county cannot charge the newspaper for the cost of research to locate the information and that it must pay the newspaper's legal fees.
In court on Wednesday, Christopher Pisano, a Sacramento lawyer hired by the county, decided not to ask for a new trial or to set aside the earlier ruling. Instead, he narrowed the county's request to only asking for a delay in handing over the documents to the Record Searchlight.
Even though the county's request to delay turning over the documents was denied by the judge on Wednesday, the newspaper is not likely receive any documents until early June, said Walt McNeill, the attorney representing the Record Searchlight.
He said there is still paperwork that the lawyers involved must file in court and the judge must sign off on a final ruling.
McNeill said he also expects county officials will seek to redact from the reports and communications some names and other information that officials deem confidential. What the county is ultimately allowed to redact will likely be worked out next week, McNeill said.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County again told to release records to the Record Searchlight
