INDIANAPOLIS -- Lawyers for Indiana Governor and Republican Vice President-elect Mike Pence argued in court Monday that the state's judicial branch has no authority to require him to comply with Indiana's public records law.
The civil case before Indiana's Court of Appeals was brought by Indianapolis attorney William Groth, who sued in 2015 after the Pence administration denied a request for un-redacted records, including a document related to Republican efforts to stop President Barack Obama's immigration executive order.
Pence has long presented himself as a champion of a free press and the First Amendment. In March, he vetoed a bill that would have exempted private universities from releasing some police records, calling it "a disservice to the public and an unnecessary barrier to transparency." And on the campaign trail he aggressively criticized Democrat Hillary Clinton for refusing to release emails sent from a private server she maintained while secretary of state.
But his gubernatorial administration has argued against the public release of emails and other documents that could shed light on his tenure as governor. In some cases, his office has withheld documents, delayed responses or denied public records requests filed by The Associated Press and other news organizations.
On Monday, Pence attorney Joseph Chapelle told the judges that the separation of powers established under the state's constitution should prevent the court system from forcing Pence and his immediate staff to comply with the open records law if they are sued.
"Inquiry into the personal papers of the governor would [interfere] with the affairs of the governor's office," Chapelle said. "He's different than other state agencies."
The appellate court took up the case after a lower court ruled that Pence did not have to turn over emails or billing invoices or a document written by the chief of staff to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and emailed to Pence's chief of staff. Groth sought that document, which outlined legal arguments for the GOP's successful challenge to Obama's immigration executive order.
Pence's administration released 57 pages of emails with some redactions, as well as redacted invoices, to Groth, a Democrat. But it declined to provide the attached document from Abbott's chief of staff. That document had been emailed to many Republican governors as part of an effort to recruit other states to join the legal challenge against Obama.
Pence's attorneys argue that the governor's office acted within its rights by refusing to release the records, which they say are "work product" that is "deliberative" in nature and also protected by attorney-client privilege. But Pence's attorneys also argued that an Indiana Supreme Court ruling that effectively exempted the state's General Assembly from releasing emails should also apply to them.
The state's highest court ruled in April that it could not order the Legislature to release lawmakers' email correspondence because it would violate the state constitution's separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government.
"It's extremely ironic, because hidden emails were a hot topic during the presidential campaign," said Julia Vaughn, the policy director for the left-leaning Common Cause Indiana. "He could set an example by walking the walk and not just talking the talk."
A Section on 11/22/2016