Attorneys for the Sacramento News and Review were in court Tuesday in an attempt to obtain legal fees from the city of Sacramento and a group run by former Mayor Kevin Johnson, following a battle over the release of Johnson’s emails.
In 2015 the paper sought to prove then-Mayor Johnson used his staff to work on city and private projects. This included his plan to take control of the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) and then launch the African American Mayors Association (AAMA).
The Sacramento City Attorney's Office said it would release most of the emails of which it had access, but alerted the mayor that some could violate his attorney-client privilege.
Johnson used the NCBM to sue the News and Review owners, Chico Community Publishing Inc., and the city. After lengthy negotiations, about three dozen emails were completely exempt from being released. More than 400 were released and helped validate the paper's suspicions.
Even so, a lower court ruled that neither the city nor the mayors' group was responsible for the $100,000 in attorneys fees the paper owes.
News and Review attorney Dan Laidman told the 3rd District Court of Appeals on Tuesday that isn't right to force the paper to pay the legal fees required to uncover the mayor's use of public employees for private projects.
"That sends a really strong message that discourages journalists like the News and Review, but also non-profit groups, watchdogs, citizens from enforcing their rights and holding government accountable because it becomes too expensive," Laidman told Capital Public Radio after the hearing.
The three appellate court judges appeared to agree with NCBM/AAMA attorney Scott Humphreys.
"He wasn't acting as the mayor. He was acting as the president of the NCBM and that's why we filed the action that we did,” Humphreys said after the hearing. “Just to be clear, we're committed to the First Amendment and the release of public documents to the press. We're equally committed to the attorney-client privilege."
The judges did push back against the city's argument it shouldn't have to pay either.
In one exchange attorney Sandra Velasquez admitted, “He (Johnson) wore two hats at the same time,” but also made the point the city released the emails as requested by the paper.
The one person who's insulated from all of this is the person who's at the center of it: The former mayor.
Associate Justice Ronald B. Robie said Johnson is not immune from a lawsuit in the case.
“If you want to sue him, you can,” Robie said during an exchange with Laidman.
It could be three months before the court issues a decision.
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