County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County

Opinion

McADAMS, J.

This writ proceeding raises weighty questions of first impression, which illuminate tensions between federal homeland security provisions and our state’s open public record laws. This proceeding also requires us to consider a state law exemption allowing nondisclosure in the public interest; the impact of copyright claims on disclosure; and the extent to which charges for electronic public records may exceed reproduction costs. After analyzing these important and novel issues, we conclude that the law calls for unrestricted disclosure of the information sought here, subject…