Judge rules in Palin e-mail case (can use private e-mail accounts to conduct state business)

AP ^ | 8.12.2009 | Rachel D'Oro

[justkate]

A judge has ruled that the Alaska governor's office can use private e-mail accounts to conduct state business, as former Gov. Sarah Palin sometimes did. Judge Rules in Palin Email Case

[justkate]

After reading some of the blogs (Celtic Diva,etc), they are nowhere close to done. I don’t know who’s footing the legal bills for these vicious lunatics, but it deserves a closer look. As long as there’s no down side for them, they’ll never stop.

[dools007]

Your logic would also proscribe use of a personal land line or cell phone to conduct “the public’s business”. That’s just plain silly. I don’t see one’s private email account as being any different than a personally owned phone.

Your logic also assumes the elected official or government employees would always have access to a “government” computer. I don’t see that as being realistic—especially for rank and file civil servants. Most of them would never be issued a “government” lap top to carry around with them.

Although your point sounds good at first blush, it doesn’t hold up on closer scrutiny. Having said that, I think an elected official and civil servants, who find themselves in a position to have to use their own email account to conduct government business, would be prudent to “copy” their “government” email account. This would put them in the clear of political hacks like McLeod.