LOC News
Supreme Court Rules on the Extent of the Attorney-Client Privilege Public Records Exemption
In a blow to good government, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that public records ordinarily protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege must be disclosed if they are more than 25 years old.
The court examined the issue in City of Portland v Bartlett, which involved a public records request seeking information containing legal advice provided to members of Portland’s city commission. The records requester argued that an existing statute provided that records older than 25 years were required to be disclosed regardless of their privileged status. The city argued that the attorney-client privilege did not dissipate after a period of time, and the records could be withheld from disclosure. An amicus, or friend of the court, brief was filed by the LOC, written by the Local Government Law Group in support of the city of Portland.
The ruling removes a public entity’s ability to withhold privileged public records from public disclosure if the record is more than 25 years old. The ruling runs the risk of placing public entities such as cities at a disadvantage during litigation and collective bargaining, and jeopardizes the ability to obtain candid legal advice during investigations. The legislation to correct the conflict in the statutes was introduced in 2021 but did not move froward. Please monitor future editions of the Friday LOC Bulletin for additional analysis.
The LOC would like to thank the Local Government Law Group for writing the LOC’s amicus brief in support of the city of Portland.
Contact: Scott Winkels, Lobbyist, swinkels@orcities.org
Last Updated 4/29/22
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