Court: Palin's e-mail practices not a violation of open records law

An Alaska Superior Court judge ruled today that former Republican Gov. Sarah Palin’s use of private e-mail accounts was not a violation of the state open records law.

The Associated Press reported that “Superior Court Judge Jack W. Smith said in his ruling that there is no provision in Alaska state law that prohibits the use of private e-mail accounts when conducting state business.”

The ruling came in a case brought by Andree McLeod for access to various Palin records. As part of the suit she argued Palin’s Yahoo e-mail messages were public because she was conducting state business in them.

The AP also reported that “Smith agreed with the state’s premise that public records are defined as those preserved for their informational value, or to document a public agency’s operation or organization, and that current open records law doesn’t specifically deal with private e-mails.”