Lee v. Minner

Matthew Lee (plaintiff) was the executive director of a community and consumer organization, a lawyer, and a journalist. Lee also was a citizen of the New York State. Pursuant to Delaware’s open-records law, Lee submitted a request to the Delaware attorney general seeking information related to a settlement agreement that the state entered into with a company that was alleged to have engaged in deceptive lending practices. Delaware’s open-records law contained a provision stating that public records must be open to inspection and copying by citizens of the state and that reasonable access should not be denied to any citizen of the state. The state solicitor denied Lee’s request because Lee was not a citizen of Delaware. Lee filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against its governor, Ruth Ann Minner (defendant). Lee alleged that the state’s denial of his open-records request violated the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the United States Constitution. Specifically, Lee asserted that the citizen-only provision in the open-records law burdened his right to pursue his profession as a journalist. Lee further maintained that the Privileges and Immunities Clause afforded him the right to engage in the political process with regard to matters of national political and economic importance. Minner asserted that allowing a noncitizen access would diminish the state’s ability to define its political community. The district court granted an injunction prohibiting the attorney general from enforcing the open-records law’s citizenship restriction against Lee. Minner then filed an appeal.