---
title: City of San Jose v. Superior Court (Smith) - George Hills
description: The California Supreme Court came to a decision last week that states that emails and text messages related to the conduct of public business sent or recei
image: https://georgehills.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/istockphoto-1019217082-1024x1024-1-Sep-03-2025-05-39-58-4366-AM.jpg
---

 By [George Hills](https://georgehills.com/about/news/author/george-hills) | Mar 9, 2017

# City of San Jose v. Superior Court (Smith)

The California Supreme Court came to a decision last week that states that emails and text messages related to the conduct of public business sent or received by public officials and their staffs on their private electronic devices or personal accounts were subject to production under the California Public Records Act (CPRA). The implications of this decision are far reaching and worthy of a closer examination. Luckily, Ruthann G. Ziegler and Nicholaus W. Norvell prepared an [analysis of the decision](http://www.meyersnave.com/ca-supreme-court-public-officials-employees-communications-private-devices-accounts-may-public-records-subject-disclosure) over at Meyers Nave to help all interested parties understand what this case means for California public agencies.

George Hills strongly recommends that our clients familiarize themselves with this decision and its implications. The full decision can be found [here](http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S218066.PDF).

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