Gilroy case ruling strengthens California public records law - San Jose Spotlight

"Cities will be held accountable when they withhold or destroy pertinent information during a public records request, as a result of a landmark California Supreme Court decision. In City of Gilroy v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court on Jan. 15 unanimously ruled that governments must be held accountable even when records no longer exist - but cities aren't required to preserve documents under the California Public Records Act."

""Some of our concern was that if there is no declaratory relief, then governments are essentially given the green light to declare something as exempt and then destroy it with no oversight and no way to check whether that was appropriate," Bauman told San José Spotlight. "So with this ability to get declaratory relief, we can prevent governments from doing that.""

"Under the California Public Records Act, cities are required to conduct a thorough search of records when a member of the public requests information. If they withhold documents, they must specify which documents and the reason why. The law still allows documents related to an investigation to be kept confidential."

A unanimous California Supreme Court ruling in City of Gilroy v. Superior Court establishes that governments can be held accountable when they withhold or destroy pertinent public records, even if the records no longer exist. The decision clarifies that agencies are not required to preserve documents under the California Public Records Act, but strengthens remedies for slow or deficient responses and allows declaratory relief against improper withholding or destruction. The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley sued after being denied records about homeless encampment sweeps and alleged destruction of medical equipment. The CPRA still requires thorough searches and specific explanations for withheld records, with confidentiality allowed for investigative materials.

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