Today the State Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Justice Richard Sanders versus the Attorney General's Office concerning a public records dispute. Justices Sanders, Jim Johnson and Tom Chambers did not participate in the ruling and were replaced by Pro Tem Justices William Baker, Mary Becker and J.Robert Leach.

Writing for a unanimous Supreme Court, Justice Debra Stephens wrote: 

"Justice Richard B. Sanders sued the attorney general’s office (AGO) for inadequately responding to his public records request and for withholding nonexempt documents in violation of the Public Records Act (PRA). Resolving the suit requires an examination of numerous topics under the PRA, including the form of the request, the adequacy of AGO’s disclosure, the adequacy of AGO’s production, the appropriate penalty, and the award of costs and fees at trial and on appeal. One major issue is whether AGO violated the PRA by failing, in its response to Justice Sanders’s PRA request, to provide a brief explanation of how its claimed exemptions applied to the records withheld, and what remedy follows from such a violation. We hold that AGO’s failure to provide a brief explanation violated the PRA and should be considered as an aggravating factor when setting penalties for withholding nonexempt documents. Other issues pertain to the attorney-client and work product privileges and their use to claim exemptions under the PRA. We hold that the trial court correctly interpreted the work product privilege and do not reach its interpretation of the attorney-client privilege . . .

This case presented unique legal and factual complexities, which the trial court carefully considered. We affirm the trial court’s decisions on all issues except (1) the interpretation of the attorney-client privilege and (2) the rulings on the claimed exemptions for SPDs 44 and 50-52. We do not reach the first issue because we assume, without deciding, that the attorney-client privilege protects communications only if they pertain to legal advice. On the second issue, we hold that the claimed exemptions were invalid and AGO’s withholding of the documents was wrongful. We treat these documents as one 'record' and impose the trial court’s $8 per day penalty accordingly. Finally, because Justice Sanders prevailed in part, we award him 25 percent of his costs and attorney fees on appeal."

Here is additional background on the case.