American Federation of State v. Regents of University of California

Opinion

ELKINGTON, J. Recent years have witnessed an accelerated public consciousness of the people’s right to information about the conduct of their business by public officials, and of the people’s right to privacy.

An expression of the people’s right to information will be found in California’s Public Records Act (hereafter the Act) found in Government [915]Code sections 6250-6261. There the Legislature reaffirmed the principle that “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.” (Gov. Code, § 6250; italics added.)

However, in reasserting the people’s “right to information,” the Legislature took pains to point out that in the effectuation of that right, courts and legislatures must be mindful of the “right of individuals to privacy,.. .” (Gov. Code, § 6250; italics added.)

The right to privacy has acquired express constitutional recognition. Among the inalienable rights of the people of this state are those of “pursuing and obtaining . . . privacy.” (Cal. Const., art. I, § 1; italics added.) It has elsewhere been given expression in appropriate cases, such as the authorization of certain tribunals to “make rules ... providing for confidentiality of proceedings.” (See, e.g., Cal. Const., art. VI, § 18, subd. (f).) And see Craemer v. Superior Court, 265 Cal.App.2d 216, 220-222 [71 Cal.Rptr. 193], where we pointed out many statutory and judicial declarations of this right.

The Act provides: “Public records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state or local agency and every citizen has a right to inspect any public record, except as hereafter provided.” (Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (a).)

Among the Act’s provided exceptions found to be here relevant are the following:

“Personnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; ...” (Gov. Code, § 6254, subd. (c).)

“The agency shall justify withholding any record by demonstrating . . . that on the facts of the particular case the public interest served by not making the record public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.” (Gov. Code, § 6255.)