Herald Association v. Dean

816 A.2d 469 (2002)

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Herald Association v. Dean

Vermont Supreme Court
816 A.2d 469 (2002)

LJ

Facts

Publishers of various newspapers circulated throughout Vermont, including the Herald Association (the publishers) (plaintiffs), filed a request under Vermont’s open-records law for the daily schedule of the state’s governor, Howard Dean (defendant). The publishers were trying to ascertain how much time Dean spent on nongubernatorial activities and, specifically, his presidential campaign. The daily schedule included a variety of public and private events. Some of the business-related items on the calendar included descriptions of policy questions and topics to be discussed at the meetings. Dean denied the publishers’ request, citing the common-law executive privilege. The publishers filed suit, seeking the disclosure of the records. The publishers asserted that the steps that the governor was taking to pursue a presidential campaign while holding public office were matters of public interest. The publishers further clarified that they were not interested in any of the personal information contained in the calendar, such as medical appointments, and agreed to that information being redacted. Dean continued to refuse to produce the calendar. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the publishers, holding that Dean could not claim executive privilege with regard to his calendar because the calendar contained only factual information and did not reveal information related to policy or decision-making processes. Dean filed an appeal.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Morse, J.)

Concurrence/Dissent (Skoglund, J.)

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