| Opinion: | Wagner v. Office of the Sheriff of Custer County, 2021 OK CIV APP 20 |
| Subject matter: | Open Records Act |
| Date Decided: | April 30, 2021; mandate issued May 26, 2021 |
| Trial Court: | Custer County, J. Weedon |
| Route to this Court: | Appeal from Order granting summary judgment to sheriff. |
| Facts: | A professor of journalism from Wisconsin sent a request for records to the Sheriff of Custer County under the Open Records Act, seeking incident or initial offense reports “generated by the sheriff’s office covering just two days.” The professor requested that the records be delivered by digital file and via email. The Sheriff made the records available for inspection and copying but refused to deliver the records by email or digitally. Professor sued the sheriff claiming a right to electronic delivery of the records under the Open Records Act. Sheriff moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Professor appealed and the case was assigned to the Court of Civil Appeals, Division I. |
| Standard of Review: | De novo. |
| Analysis: | The plain language of the Act does not require a public body to email records requested pursuant to the Act. Thus, the Sheriff did not violate the Act when it made the records available only for inspection and copying. |
| Outcome: | Affirmed. |
| Vote: | Mitchell, J., Goree, J., and Prince, J., concur. |
| Other: | Neither party sought cert. Review. |
