Public business is the public’s business. That’s the heart of this lawsuit, filed in February 2022 by San José Spotlight and the First Amendment Coalition against the city and its former mayor, Sam Liccardo, to enforce the California Public Records Act (CPRA). The lawsuit took aim at Liccardo’s use of private texts and emails to do city business in secretive ways, charging that in response to CPRA requests, the city improperly withheld a range of records, redacted information without adequate justification, and failed to conduct thorough searches for records that would shine more light on the former mayor’s interactions with lobbyists and special interests.
As an example of the city’s flagrant disregard for its transparency obligations, the lawsuit detailed revelations that Liccardo directed a constituent to contact him on a personal email account to skirt public records laws. “I’m going to delete this email from my government account,” Liccardo wrote to the constituent, according to documents obtained and published by San José Spotlight.
As San José Spotlight and FAC attorneys told the court, state law is clear that emails and other communications about city business are public records, whether they are sent from personal or government accounts or devices..
The lawsuit challenged the city’s response to four public records requests by San José Spotlight or FAC dating back to December 2020. Given evidence of a practice of skirting public records requirements, San José Spotlight and FAC asked the court to order long-term policy changes.
San José Spotlight was represented by Karl Olson and Aaron Field of the law firm Cannata, O’Toole, Fickes & Olson. The First Amendment Coalition was represented by David Snyder, the organization’s Executive Director, David Loy, the organization’s Legal Director, and Monica Price, 2021-2023 Legal Fellow.
Press Releases:
- Court Finds Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and City Violated Public Records Act (8/30/2023)
- Public Records Lawsuit Seeks Transparency at City Hall (2/3/2022)
News Coverage:
- San José Spotlight: Ex-San Jose mayor and city violated the law, judge rules (8/29/2023)
- San José Spotlight: San Jose Spotlight is suing San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo over private email use (2/3/2022)
- Associated Press: Lawsuit accuses San Jose Mayor of Violating Public Records Act (2/3/2022)
- Courthouse News Service: San Jose mayor accused of using private email to hide public records (2/3/2022)
- NBC Bay Area: Mayor of San Jose accused of conducting city business in private (2/3/2022)
- KTVU Fox 2: Lawsuit alleges San Jose, mayor violating public records laws (2/4/2023)
- KCBS: San Jose sued over alleged public records violation (2/4/2022)
- Mercury News: Extremely disturbing: Why San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is being Sued over Private Email (2/8/2022)
Legal Documents:
- Amendment to Order Granting Writ of Mandate (8/29/2023)
- Order Granting Writ of Mandate (7/3/2023)
- Petitioners’ Reply in Support of Petition for Writ of Mandate and Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (3/29/2023)
- Respondents’ Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandate and Declaratory and Relief (3/14/2023)
- Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Petition For Writ of Mandate (1/17/2023)
- Verified Petition For Writ of Mandate and Declaratory and Injunctive Relief Under the California Public Records Act (2/3/2022)