B. How long to wait.

Since the Arizona Public Records Law mandates that “[p]ublic records and other matters in the custody of any officer shall be open to inspection by any person at all times during office hours,” the law creates a presumption in favor of immediate access to the documents.  A.R.S. § 39-121.  A.R.S. § 39-121.01(E) also provides that “[a]ccess to a public records is deemed denied if a custodian fails to promptly respond to a request for production of a public record.”

 “Although Arizona law requires that the documents be promptly furnished, it does not specify a specific number of days from the request by which time a public body must furnish the documents.”  Phoenix New Times, 217 Ariz. at 538, 177 P.3d at 280.  Courts, therefore, have relied on a dictionary definition of “promptly” to require that public records be produced “at once or without delay.”  West Valley View, 216 Ariz. at 230, 165 P.3d at 208.  But they recognize that “whether a government agency’s response to a wide variety of document requests was sufficiently prompt will ultimately be dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each request.”  Phoenix New Times, 217 Ariz. at 538, 177 P.3d at 280 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); but see id. at 541, 177 P.3d at 283 (noting that “evidence of inattentiveness on the part of the public body does not establish the promptness of a response”).  Some requests will require more time for the custodian to locate the records or to review and determine whether certain information should be deleted from them.