La. news organization sues for release of Lake Charles mayor’s emails
LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - A statewide news organization is questioning why Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter won’t turn over certain emails to them.
It started with a public records request sent earlier this year. Now, a lawsuit has been filed by Tulane First Amendment Law Clinic.
Louisiana Illuminator journalist Natalie McLendon sent a public request to the City of Lake Charles in May, asking for all emails to and from Mayor Nic Hunter during a three-day span - from April 10 through 12.
The Illuminator is an online, nonprofit news publication that covers cities across the state, including Lake Charles. KPLC is a partner of the Illuminator, and its stories often run on our website.
Of the 1,466 pages of emails, Lake Charles City Attorney David Morgan said 298 were not subject to public records law because they fell under attorney-client privilege.
“‘They are all exempt for attorney client privilege.’ That’s not really an acceptable answer,” said Melia Cerrato, Sunshine Legal Fellow of the Tulane First Amendment Law Clinic.
Last month, the First Amendment Law Clinic at Tulane filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Illuminator, asking the city to turn over the other 300 pages of emails, or provide a more detailed reason as to why that communication is exempt.
Legal Fellow Melia Cerrato said exactly how many emails those 300 pages represent is unknown.
“That’s one of the issues when you’re withholding documents; you need to explain the reasoning. And so, 300 pages in a three-day period seems pretty excessive, which is why we would like more answers,” said Cerrato.
The lawsuit also addresses other concerns of the Louisiana Illuminator.
It claims the city attorney took more than five days to respond to its initial records request and fees charged by the city for such documents are unreasonable.
“Electronic copies should have no costs. People should not be charged for copies of their own government documents if there’s no expense to the government,” said Cerrato. “We really believe that making public records is a core function of our government and our government offices. This is a part of their duties as elected officials.”
According to the Illuminator, Mayor Hunter was served the lawsuit Tuesday.
The City of Lake Charles provided the following comment: “On the advice of legal counsel, Mayor Nic Hunter is unable to comment on pending litigation.”
Copyright 2024 KPLC. All rights reserved.