New York Times Co. v. Superior Court

Opinion

STONE (S. J.), J.

Does a newspaper have the right to the names and addresses of a water district’s customers who exceeded their water allocation after implementation of a water rationing ordinance? We conclude that the mere assertion by the water district of possible harassment or physical endangerment does not “clearly outweigh” the public interest in disclosure of these records. We further conclude that the superior court, in denying the newspaper access to the water district’s list of excessive water users, exceeded its jurisdiction in failing to place the burden to justify…