This week, Judge Walter P. Schwarm indicated in a verbal tentative ruling that he was leaning towards granting portions of Voice of OC requests for public records denied by the County, including an Op-ed written by Supervisor Todd Spitzer about the incident at a Wahoos restaurant where he handcuffed an evangelist while armed.
However, before making a decision, Schwarm requested additional briefing on whether he could review the records before making a decision and on the recent California Supreme Court case involving public access to private email accounts used by public officials while doing public business.
Schwarm scheduled another hearing on April 13, where he will consider the additional arguments made by the parties.