Justices to decide on e-mail secrecy

The Idaho Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a public records case involving e-mails exchanged between Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas and his former employee, Marina Kalani.

Convening in Coeur d’Alene, the court will consider Kalani’s appeal of a district court decision that messages between she and Douglas are public records that must be disclosed in full.

The Spokesman-Review in 2005 sued to obtain the e-mails to learn more about the demise of the juvenile drug court, which Kalani supervised. The county released part or all of about 460 e-mails and withheld nearly 600 others.

District Judge John Stegner ruled that the e-mails were public, rejecting arguments by Douglas and Kalani that the records were private and not relating to the conduct of public business.

Douglas later dropped his objection, but Kalani continues to argue that the e-mails are not public records, would be exempt from disclosure as personnel matters if they are public records, and that disclosure would violate her constitutional right to privacy.

In a related matter, the newspaper has appealed a district court decision sealing details of a claim Kalani settled with the county through its insurer, the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program. The state Supreme Court also will hear arguments Tuesday in that appeal.

On Wednesday the court will hear another appeal involving The Spokesman-Review. Trent Clark, former head of the Idaho Republican Party, filed a libel suit against the newspaper, claiming he was misquoted in a 2001 article.

A Kootenai County magistrate judge dismissed Clark’s case. The judge ruled there was no evidence of malice on the newspaper’s behalf. First District Judge Charles Hosack upheld the dismissal in 2005. Clark appealed to the Supreme Court.

Both hearings are scheduled for 8:50 a.m. in Courtoom 1 of the Kootenai County Courthouse.

Also Wednesday, a hearing is scheduled in a lawsuit The Spokesman-Review filed seeking to compel Kootenai County officials to release records of an investigation that immediately preceded Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rick Baughman’s resignation Feb. 1.

Baughman had been on paid leave since Nov. 6, 2006, after Douglas initiated an investigation into sexual harassment allegations levied by Baughman’s colleagues. Two female former employees accused him of inappropriate touching, lewd comments and offers of dates.

The investigation was expanded to include county e-mail use after the revelation that Baughman and one of the women exchanged lewd e-mails.