Right to “inspect” public records?
Q: Do I have the right to search a public agency’s records myself, or am I limited to having the agency provide me with specific information I request?
A: You have a right to “inspect” public records during the office hours of the agency in question. See Government Code sec. 6253. The right to “inspect” is separate from the right to receive a “copy” — so you have a right to look at the original documents without having the agency make copies (which you would have to pay for). However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you can simply show up at the office and start looking through their files. Bruce v. Gregory, 65 Cal.2d 666 (1967) (the custodian of records may “formulate reasonable regulations necessary to protect the safety of the records … [or] to prevent inspection from interfering with the orderly function of his office and its employees”).
You should be prepared to articulate in some reasonable fashion which documents you wish to inspect. The agency may be able to withhold certain documents within your request if they fall within the statutory exceptions to the Public Record Act.Depending on the breadth of your request, it may take some period of time to assemble the documents and/or to inform you whether documents are being withheld. The agency has a ten-day deadline to respond to requests for “copies” of records. Gov. Code sec. 6256.2. It is not entirely clear that this deadline applies where you are seeking to “inspect” as opposed to “copy” — you can argue that they need to respond even sooner than that, but certainly that should be an outside deadline, unless your request is truly voluminous.