AGO 85-03.

CourtNorth Dakota
North Dakota Attorney General Opinions 1985. AGO 85-03. Office of the Attorney General State of North Dakota Opinion No. 85-3Date Issued: January 22, 1985Requested by: John A. Richardson Commissioner North Dakota State Board of Higher Education--QUESTION PRESENTED-- Whether a private investigator's report, prepared at the request and in the possession of a state college, concerning a member of that college's faculty, is exempt from North Dakota's Open Records Law.--ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION-- It is my opinion that a private investigator's report, prepared at the request and in the possession of a state college, concerning a member of that college's faculty, is not exempt from North Dakota's Open Records Law. --ANALYSIS-- North Dakota's Open Records Law is found in our State Constitution and in state law. Article XI, § 6 of the North Dakota Constitution provides as follows:
Section 6. Unless otherwise provided by law, all records of public or governmental bodies, boards, bureaus, commissions, or agencies of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or organizations or agencies supported in whole or in part by public funds, or expending public funds, shall be public records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours.
N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18, constitutes the statutory provision for the maintenance and disclosure of open records and that statute states as follows:
44-04-18. ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS--PENALTY.
1. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, all records of public or governmental bodies, boards, bureaus, commissions or agencies of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or organizations or agencies supported in whole or in part by public funds, or expending public funds, shall be public records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours.
2. Violations of this section shall be punishible as an infraction.
In applying North Dakota's Open Records Law, one must first inquire as to the scope of the definition of 'records.' The North Dakota Supreme Court, in City of Grand Forks v. Grand Forks Herald, Inc., 307 N.W.2d 572 (N.D. 1981), had the occasion to determine the scope of the definition of 'records' for purposes of the Open Records Law. In that case, the Court stated as follows:
We believe that the term 'records' as used in § 44-04-18,
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