Kinney
Kinney v. Super. Ct.
Opinion
Opinion
Snauffer, J.
BACKGROUND
On February 15, 2021, Kinney emailed a records request to the County. The specific wording of Kinney’s email is as follows:
“Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I request that you provide me with the names of every individual arrested for DUI by the Kern County Sheriff’s Department from March 1, 2020 through April 1, 2020.”
Although Kinney’s email did not so specify, the requested information—the arrestees’ names—is information specified in section 6254, subdivision (f)(1).
Unless otherwise indicated, all statutory references are to the Government Code. Section 6250 provides: “In enacting this chapter, the Legislature, mindful of the right of individuals to privacy, finds and declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.”
2. Section 6254 provides a description of public records which are not required to be disclosed by Chapter 3.5 (relating to Inspection of Public Records) of the Government Code. Subdivision (f), which we provide in part, describes a particular category of such exempt public records:
“Records of complaints to, or investigations…