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Lawyer wants more records following inappropriate e-mail firings
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An attorney for four Collier County employees, who were fired for viewing questionable e-mails, filed suit against the county in circuit court for withholding public records.
Doug Wilson, representing Diane Deoss, Jo Thurston, Jesse Komorny and Kenneth Van Osten, alleges that he has been restricted from inspecting and copying public records.
On May 22, Wilson submitted a request for a variety of public records, relating to the cases of Komorny and Van Osten, to Amy Lyberg, interim director of human resources for Collier County.
Wilson’s letter clearly stated that he was unsure of who was considered custodian of the records, but that the materials produced from his request should be forwarded to the appropriate person.
“We request the entire investigative file regarding this matter, beginning with the first report of a policy violation by anyone and extending to all documents created or discovered in the ensuing investigation,” Wilson states in his public records suit.
He got a considerable amount of paperwork — some 300 pages of records from Lyberg — but not all he was expecting.
On June 30, Wilson again wrote to Lyberg stating he had not yet received all the e-mails, including e-mails connected to Thurston and Deoss.
“There may be others, and I want to repeat, as I did on June 11, that we want every last one which the county’s investigation has already turned up, and will turn up until the entire investigation is concluded,” Wilson wrote. “The request is intended to include e-mails that your investigators deem to be innocent, innocuous or inoffensive but are still personal and unofficial.”
In Mrs. Thurston’s case, some of the e-mails are of a spiritual nature, Wilson wrote, and he was trying to determine if the county was relying on them to terminate her.
Days later, Assistant County Attorney Colleen Greene advised Wilson that some personal e-mails received on county computers are not public record, and would not be produced for inspecting and copying, citing a 2003 case in Clearwater.
However, Wilson contends that this case is different, and that one can’t cherry-pick which county rules will be observed.
The electronic communication systems are the property of the county, which has provided these systems exclusively to conduct county business.
“All communications and information transmitted by, received from, passing through or stored in these systems are county records and the exclusive property of Collier County,” said Wilson, referring to the county’s own rules.
The county’s policy also provides that all users of the Collier County computing and electronic communications systems, including telephones, will legally affirm that they have read and understood all applicable policies.
Wilson contends that all such e-mails are public records “from the moment of their creation.”
However, the county has declared some correspondence as personal e-mails, which would exempt them from public records rules.
Wilson wants to see all of it.
He wants to see the e-mails that passed the desk of county directors, none of whom were investigated, according to Torre.
When it was brought to his attention that Lt. Todd Layton, with the Isles of Capri Fire and EMS station, and Michael Sawyer, a senior planner in zoning, were lightly disciplined, Torre said Layton was suspended and demoted, and no longer holds the title of lieutenant.
But he wasn’t fired.
Torre didn’t address the Sawyer case.
Collier County Public Utilities Water Supervisor Heather Sweet was suspended by county officials several weeks ago because she received inappropriate, possibly sexually explicit, e-mails.
But Sweet wasn’t fired, as Deoss and Thurston were.
That’s because she “received inappropriate e-mails but did not distribute them,” according to county spokesman John Torre, who last week noted that only supervisors were fired, because they should have known better.
Termination hearings are scheduled for July 25, but Wilson is trying to get them pushed back so he can get all the information he needs to defend his clients.
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So pornoholics are treated differently depending on which department they work in?
Whoa...sounds a bit fishy to me.
We'll see how good he is as an attorney?
You can look at the porn...but don't email the porn...the government and taxpayers are torn.
While an attorney's case is born.
I wouldn't call this humorous, as these guys were here for a purpose...and it wasn't to look at, OR email porn on taxpayer's time.
#1 Posted by beetlejuice on July 18, 2008 at 1:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If the prior articles are true, certain employees were sending around pornographic e-mails while on the county clock and got caught. Now they are crying foul. Didn't they think that this would get them into trouble if the information got out?
#2 Posted by reasonableguy on July 18, 2008 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If the prior articles are true,
I think that's what they are trying to figure out.
#3 Posted by Optipess on July 18, 2008 at 8:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As much as I dont like attorney's I have to agree with him on this. All county emails should be available for public scrutiny and review. Its no different in this case except that a lawsuit is involved. Im also not so sure that they should have been fired, but it depends on the emails (porn or just inappropriate jokes) and the frequency they were sent out.
#4 Posted by Analytical_Skeptic on July 18, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
cracker;
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
;-)
#5 Posted by Optipess on July 18, 2008 at 1:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That’s because she “received inappropriate e-mails but did not distribute them,” according to county spokesman John Torre.....
How can someone be disciplined for what they receive? That's completely ridiculous. You cannot control the copious amounts of spam you receive regularly. That includes professional junk mailers as well as the constant forwards of jokes our friends and family love to share with you.
But how can you punish someone that was nothing more than an unwitting recipient. Maybe if a few inappropriate jokes were sent to some of the investigators they would understand my point.
Second thing. The county fires and disciplines miltiple employees for use of county computers for personal and inappropriate e mail communication. Then tries to say those same communications are not subject to public records laws because their private.
Can't have it both ways people. I'm sorry but that's just dumb.
#6 Posted by Scratching_My_Head on July 18, 2008 at 1:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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