Recent Court Decisions

Are teacher e-mails sent through the school district’s email system considered public records?

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin recently held they were not records under Wisconsin’s Public Record Law, and therefore that they were not subject to disclosure. The court found that materials are public records only if they have a connection with a governmental function. Under certain situations, such as when a disciplinary investigation is occurring, personal e-mails would be subject to disclosure, but this was not the case here.

Though not applicable in Illinois, the Freedom of Information Act 5 ILCS 140/ has the same connection to a governmental function that is discussed in this opinion. School officials and employees should take note of this case and not use school email systems for personal e-mails or information to avoid future conflict. For more information, please see the Illinois Attorney General website on OMA and FOIA.

Nika Grabavoy, Extern, Valparaiso University School of Law

Shari Gottlieb, a self-employed web designer, volunteered her services and designed a website which was used by Citizens for Wilmette Schools (committee). She sent the committee notice of an in-kind contribution valuing her work at $3,435. The committee did not file a schedule A-1 form for Gottlieb’s work, which is required for contributions greater than $1,000. After the election, the committee included Gottlieb’s work in its quarterly D-2 report, but later amended the D-2 to remove Gottlieb’s work. Wilmette resident Herbert Sorock filed a complaint with the Illinois State Board of Elections (board) which was dismissed.

Sorock appealed the dismissal arguing that the board improperly interpreted two relevant provisions of the election code. Sorock argued that Gottlieb’s time was an in-kind contribution under the statute and should have been reported. Alternatively, he argued that Gottlieb’s work meets the statutory definition of an electioneering communication and was therefore subject to disclosure. The court agreed with the board’s decision that Gottlieb’s work was not an in-kind contribution. The section of the statute which defines contributions provides that “any individual services provided voluntarily and without promise or expectation of compensation from any source shall not be deemed a contribution”. The court agreed with the board’s decision that Gottlieb’s work qualified for this exception and was not a contribution. The court concluded that the work could not be an electioneering communication because it did not communicate anything. As a web designer, Gottlieb had designed and programmed a graphical layout but had not authored the language of the site. The court affirmed the decision of the board, dismissing Sorock’s complaint.

Jared Boyer, IASB Extern

THIS AN OHIO CASE THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO IASB MEMBERS; IT IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL IN ILLINOIS.

The Ohio Court of Appeals has held that a plaintiff seeking access to the school board member's individual evaluations of the school superintendent, failed to demonstrate a clear legal right to the evaluations. The Court found that because the board only kept the composite evaluation, and did not retain the individual evaluations, the individual evaluations were not "kept" records subject to disclosure as public records.

The facts of this case began in an online chat on a suburban newspaper's comment board. The chat was between two individuals (one later identified as a minor) who posted various sarcastic comments about a local election under anonymous screen names. The minor's mother, a candidate in the election, was the subject of much of the chatter.

Using Supreme Court Rule 224 (Ill. S. Ct. R. 224), she ultimately filed a petition on her son's behalf, seeking the discovery of a commenter’s identity (referred to as John Doe). The comments were allegedly defamatory of her child. Initially, the trial court ordered that the identity of the subscriber to the internet protocol (IP) address used by John Doe when posting on the website would be revealed to petitioner.

John Doe appealed. He asserted that the trial court applied the wrong standard because the challenged comments were not defamatory. John Doe also contended that the challenged comments were immune by the Citizen Participation Act, which protects the constitutional rights of citizens and organizations to be involved and participate freely in the process of government.

The appellate court held that John Doe’s identity should not be revealed because the minor’s mother did not allege enough facts to show a cause of action for defamation, which is required under Ill. S. Ct. R. 224. Based upon its ruling, the court did not address John Doe’s assertion that the challenged comments were immune by the Citizen Participation Act. However, this case serves as a reminder to elected officials that citizens have broad First Amendment rights that require elected officials to have thick skin.

A subdivision petitioned to be detached from its current school district and annexed to another school district. However, sixteen of the relevant signatures deviated from the signatures recorded with the county election authority. These sixteen signatures were crucial to the eligibility of the petition. The Board granted the petition, but the Illinois circuit court reversed that decision and the appellate court agreed.

The circuit court disagreed with the Board and determined that the relevant sixteen signatures did not substantially comply with the statute. The court found that using initials for either the first or last name, omitting the first name, or writing in print rather than cursive made the signatures substantially noncompliant. Neither the ability to identify the voter by the signature, nor the voter’s willingness to testify, substantially satisfy the statute’s requirement that the signatures match the voting record.

Brennan McLoughlin, IASB Law Clerk