CHARLESTON, W.Va -- The state Supreme Court administrator has 10 days to turn over five e-mails written by Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard, a Kanawha Circuit judge ordered today.
CHARLESTON, W.Va -- The state Supreme Court administrator has 10 days to turn over five e-mails written by Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard, a Kanawha Circuit judge ordered today.
In a Freedom of Information Act request, The Associated Press sought all e-mails between Maynard and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship from various periods between June 2006 and January 2008.
Supreme Court Administrator Steve Canterbury denied the AP's request on the grounds that judicial communications are not subject to the state's FOIA law.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom's order rejects Canterbury's claim, stating that judicial officers are a "public body," and subject to FOIA requests.
However, Bloom's order said the content of the e-mails, and not the fact that they were written or received on a government e-mail account, determines whether they are public records.
After examining Maynard's e-mail, Bloom determined that five of 13 applicable e-mails were public record and subject to disclosure.
"The five e-mail communications regarding Justice Maynard's campaign for re-election are public records subject to disclosure under FOIA," Bloom wrote.
The remaining eight e-mails do not contain information related to the "affairs of government," Bloom concluded.
CHARLESTON, W.Va -- The state Supreme Court administrator has 10 days to turn over five e-mails written by Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard, a Kanawha Circuit judge ordered today.
In a Freedom of Information Act request, The Associated Press sought all e-mails between Maynard and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship from various periods between June 2006 and January 2008.
Supreme Court Administrator Steve Canterbury denied the AP's request on the grounds that judicial communications are not subject to the state's FOIA law.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom's order rejects Canterbury's claim, stating that judicial officers are a "public body," and subject to FOIA requests.
However, Bloom's order said the content of the e-mails, and not the fact that they were written or received on a government e-mail account, determines whether they are public records.
After examining Maynard's e-mail, Bloom determined that five of 13 applicable e-mails were public record and subject to disclosure.
"The five e-mail communications regarding Justice Maynard's campaign for re-election are public records subject to disclosure under FOIA," Bloom wrote.
The remaining eight e-mails do not contain information related to the "affairs of government," Bloom concluded.
According to an index of the e-mails that is part of the court files, Maynard wrote the five e-mails to Blankenship. They have the following dates and subject headings, according to Bloom's order: 11/6/07, Parkersburg News and Sentinel article link; 10/11/07, Green Ketchum website link re: firm overview; 10/11/07, Green Ketchum website link re: firm overview; 10/15/07, Charleston Daily Mail Kercheval editorial link; 9/21/07, WV MetroNews website link.
The e-mails were sent months before photos of Maynard and Blankenship together in July 2006 in the French Riviera surfaced in January 2008.
At the time, several cases involving Massey and its subsidiaries were either pending or headed to the Supreme Court on appeal. Maynard later voted with the 3-2 majority to overturn a multimillion-dollar verdict against Massey in a lawsuit brought by Harman Mining Corp.
Maynard eventually recused himself from the Harman case, and said he would recuse himself from all other cases involving Massey.
Bloom's ruling notes that if Maynard had not recused himself from the Harman case, the remaining eight e-mails would have been the public's business.
"Because the information contained within the e-mail communications would have shed light on the extent of Justice Maynard's relationship with Don Blankenship and whether or not that relationship may have affected or influenced Justice Maynard's decision-making in Massey cases, the public would have been entitled to that information," Bloom wrote.
Maynard lost his bid for re-election in May's primary, finishing third out of four Democratic candidates for two positions on the court.
Read more in Wednesday's Charleston Gazette.
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