West Virginia Supreme Court: Judge’s Personal Emails Not Subject To Disclosure Under State FOIA

The West Virginia Supreme Court has held that a judge’s personal emails that are not otherwise related to his or her official duties are not subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The Associated Press had requested disclosure under the statute, but the Court held that the trial court’s “analysis of the content of the e-mail and does not extend to a context-driven analysis because of public interest in the record.”