Attorneys for The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday asked a state judge for a temporary restraining order to keep Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer from deleting his government emails.
Palmer "systematically" destroys his official emails in a potentially criminal practice that should be stopped, the court filing says.
"I don't know of any other public official in Oregon who routinely destroys public records," said Charles Hinkle, of the Portland law firm Stoel Rives. He has handled public records matters for The Oregonian/OregonLive for 35 years and said this is the first time he has sought a court order to stop records destruction.
"Sheriff Palmer apparently deletes every email that he sends or receives on on the email address that is posted on the sheriff office's website," Hinkle said. "He is apparently continuing to do so even after receiving a public records request for them."
A hearing on the restraining order has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Grant County Circuit Court.
Document: Motion for restraining order
The move is the latest effort by The Oregonian/OregonLive to obtain records from Palmer, who has been sheriff in rural Grant County since 2000. The news organization in February asked Palmer for emails from his personal account that deal with government business and sued in May when he didn't provide them.
Palmer primarily uses a personal Centurytel email address for his official duty, listing it on the Grant County Sheriff's Office website as the way for the public to contact him.
Palmer's attorneys last week disclosed during a telephone conference that "the electronic version of every email received into or sent from the Centurytel account is deleted," the filing said.
Palmer has become prominent because of his support for the militants who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He said in January that authorities needed to concede to some of the militants demands. He also met privately in Grant County with militant leaders, including Ryan Payne, the Montana militiaman who this week pleaded guilty to his role in the refuge occupation.
Palmer's association with the militants was cited in 11 complaints made to the state agency that licenses police officers. The complaints, which could cost Palmer his police certification, are pending.
The state Criminal Justice Division also opened a criminal investigation of Palmer, focusing on allegations he tampered with electronic police files in 2012 by deleting a police report. That investigation continues.
Email traffic sought by The Oregonian/OregonLive covers a crucial period related to the Malheur refuge occupation - from November 2015, when Idaho businessman Ammon Bundy and others arrived in Burns, through April, weeks after the last occupier surrendered.
Under Oregon law, public officials are required to keep on file documents generated by the government.
Palmer's attorneys said the state policy authorized the sheriff to destroy his emails as he did. They subsequently cited the state "E-mail Policy Manual for Local Government."
The filing by The Oregonian/OregonLive said that state law requires public officials to keep administrative records such as emails for at least one year. Only then can they be destroyed.
Palmer and his office have a "pattern and practice to delete all electronic copies of emails from the email accounts that they use to conduct the public's business, including the email address that the Grant County Sheriff's Office website invites the public to use to contact the sheriff," the court filing said. "They have continued to do so even after they received requests seeking those documents."
Deleting public records ahead of the authorized schedule for destruction is the crime of tampering with public records, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
Palmer's lawyers said the sheriff and his office have printed copies of some emails, but didn't consider those to be emails sought by the news organization, the filing said.
Document: Attorney's declaration regarding emails
The practice of using private emails to conduct public business has been high profile both in Oregon and in the country.
Hillary Clinton's bid for the presidency has been dogged by disclosures about her use of private email while she was secretary of state. Last year, Cylvia Hayes was ordered to disclose thousands of emails relating to government business that were generated in her personal accounts while serving in the administration of Gov. John Kitzhaber, her fiance.
-- Les Zaitz
@leszaitz