Jailhouse Joinder: State Supreme Court Rules Inmate Requesting Records is Necessary to Injunction Action Filed by Guards to Stop Release of Personal Information
In Burt v. Department of Corrections, __Wn.2d __, __P.3d__ (May 13, 2010, Case No. 80998-4), a plurality of the Washington Supreme Court ruled that a prison inmate was a necessary party to a public records injunction lawsuit filed against the Department of Corrections by corrections officers whose records had been requested by the inmate. Justice Sanders wrote a concurring opinion that the inmate was an indispensible party and agreeing that the injunction must be vacated to allow the trial court to conduct additional proceedings with the inmate as a party.
The Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW, allows people named in requested public records to seek an injunction barring the release of public records if “such examination [of public records] would clearly not be in the public interest and would substantially and irreparably damage any person, or would substantially and irreparably damage vital governmental functions….”RCW 42.56.540. In late 2004, an inmate requested documents from the Department of Corrections that included employees’ “photographs, addresses, incomes, retirement and disability information, administrative grievances or internal investigations, and any other related document.” The DOC employees filed suit against DOC seeking an injunction barring the records’ release. DOC openly agreed with the employees’ before the trial court.
The Court (and Justice Sanders) both questioned the trial court’s ability to hold an appropriate adversarial proceeding that would protect public policy favoring disclosure, particularly when the only parties present, DOC and its employees, both argued against disclosure. The dissent asserted that requiring the record requester’s participation is incorrect because a records requester is not automatically prejudiced by not participating in injunction proceedings, for example the balance of necessary joinder factors would be different in cases where the agency argued against an injunction.
Going forward, public agencies faced with a records-release injunction lawsuit should give careful consideration to ensuring the requester’s participation in that lawsuit to prevent duplicative hearings or unnecessary appeals that may result in attorney fees being paid to the requester.
