The North Dakota Attorney General has issued a summary opinion, determining that Morton County did not violate the state's open records law, N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18. This finding addresses a request from Karen Jordan, who initiated an inquiry to the Attorney General's office under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-21.1. Ms. Jordan specifically sought an assessment of whether Morton County had failed to respond appropriately to an open records request, potentially violating state statutes.
The core of the matter involved Ms. Jordan's initial attempt to obtain public records. On September 20, 2023, Ms. Jordan transmitted an email to the Morton County Treasurer, requesting access to copies of property tax notices. However, this electronic communication encountered an unforeseen technical issue; the email was not successfully delivered to the Treasurer's inbox, instead being filtered into a junk folder. Consequently, the Morton County Treasurer did not receive the request at the time it was initially sent.
Recognizing the lack of a response, Ms. Jordan followed up with a second email sent on October 11, 2023, at 10:36 p.m. This subsequent communication successfully reached the Morton County Treasurer. Promptly upon receiving this follow-up, the Treasurer provided the requested records to Ms. Jordan on October 16, 2023. The Treasurer indicated that the records were furnished "as soon as [she received]" the clarifying follow-up email.
In rendering its opinion, the North Dakota Attorney General's office underscored the state's legal requirements for public entities concerning open records. According to state law, when a public entity is presented with a request for records, it is obligated to act within a reasonable timeframe. This action can involve either supplying the requested documents or providing a clear and justifiable explanation for their non-disclosure. In its assessment of the Morton County situation, the Attorney General's opinion highlighted that the initial request from Ms. Jordan was not received by the Treasurer due to the email's unintended destination in the junk filter. Crucially, once the legitimate follow-up request was received and processed, the necessary records were indeed provided within a period deemed reasonable under the circumstances. This adherence to the reasonable timeframe, once the request was properly received, led to the conclusion that Morton County had not violated the provisions of the open records law as outlined in N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18, thereby resolving Ms. Jordan's specific inquiry made under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-21.1.
