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RENO NEWSPAPERS v. HALEY
234 P.3d 922 (2010)
Supreme Court of Nevada.
July 1, 2010.
Based on that analysis, this court will address whether NRS 202.3662's confidentiality scope includes (1) the permit holder's name; and (2) records of investigation of a permit holder, or suspension or revocation action taken against a permit holder's permit. Then, we will address whether the private and law enforcement interests in restricting access to concealed weapons permits outweigh the general policy of an open and accessible government. Standard of review Ordinarily, a district court denial of a writ petition is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Las Vegas Taxpayer Comm. v. City Council, 125 Nev. 17, ___, 208 P.3d 429, 433-34 (2009). However, when the writ petition includes questions of statutory construction, this court will review the district court's decision de novo. Id. Nevada Public Records Act Under the Nevada Public Records Act (the Act), all public records generated by government entities are public information and are subject to public inspection unless otherwise declared to be confidential. NRS 239.010. The purpose of the Act is to foster principles of democracy by allowing the public access to information about government activities. NRS 239.001(1); see DR Partners v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 116 Nev. 616, 621, 6 P.3d 465, 468 (2000). In 2007, the Legislature amended the Act to ensure the presumption of openness, and provided that all statutory provisions related to the Act must be construed liberally in favor of the Act's purpose. NRS 239.001(2); 2007 Nev. Stat., ch. 435, § 2, at 2061. In contrast, any exemption, exception, or a balancing of interests that restricts the public's right to access a governmental entity's records must be construed narrowly. NRS 239.001(3); 2007 Nev. Stat., ch. 435, § 2, at 2061. Thus, this court will presume that all public records are open to disclosure unless either (1) the Legislature has expressly and unequivocally created an exemption or exception by statute, see Cowles Pub. Co. v. Kootenai County Bd., 144 Idaho 259, 159 P.3d 896, 899 (2007) (holding that unless public records are "expressly exempted
by statute," they are presumed to be open to inspection by the public); Kroeplin v. Wisconsin DNR, 297 Wis.2d 254, 725 N.W.2d 286, 292 (Wis.Ct.App.2006) (holding that "exceptions to the open records law are to be narrowly construed; unless the exception is explicit and unequivocal, we will not hold it to be an exception"); or (2) balancing the private or law enforcement interests for nondisclosure against the general policy in favor of an open and accessible government requires restricting public access to government records. See Donrey of Nevada v. Bradshaw, 106 Nev. 630, 635-36, 798 P.2d 144, 147-48 (1990). And, in unity with the underlying policy of ensuring an open and accountable government, the burden is on the government to prove confidentiality by a preponderance of the evidence. NRS 239.0113(2). Scope of the statutory exception creating confidentiality within NRS 202.3662 The parties dispute the scope of NRS 202.3662, which governs the "[confidentiality of information about [an] applicant for [a concealed firearms] permit and [a] permittee." Haley argues that because an application for a concealed firearms permit and information related to the applicant are confidential under NRS 202.3662, any information generated in a permit that is derived from the application would remain confidential, including the name of both the applicant and the ultimate permittee. Therefore, Haley maintains that the district court properly applied NRS 202.3662 when it determined that the permit and the name of the permit holder were confidential. We disagree.
1. Haley's law enforcement and public policy argument for confidentiality is limited to the identity of the permittee and does not address any other law enforcement or public policy concerns supporting confidentiality for records of investigation, suspension, or revocation of a permit.
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