Opinion ID: 1915058
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: standing as to the open records act

Text: The academic program review records of the Board were public records covered under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-5 (1972). [A]ll public records are hereby declared to be public property, and any person shall have the right to inspect, copy or mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of any public record of a public body in accordance with reasonable written procedures adopted by the public body concerning the cost, time, place and method of access, and public notice of the procedures shall be given by the public body, or, in the event that a public body has not adopted such written procedures, the right to inspect, copy or mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of a public record of the public body... . Mississippi Publishers Corp. v. Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning, 478 So.2d 269 (Miss. 1985) addressed the applicability of the Open Records Act to these public records. That decision provides that academic program review documents are public records, to which the public has access. Van Slyke claims that the denial of the Board of Trustees to produce such documents constitutes an injury which entitles him to relief. Appellee argues that such injury confers in him standing to challenge the officer's action as unauthorized and unintended by the statute. With respect to this question, the majority opinion of this Court concurs. Every citizen is statutorily granted access to public records. Injury occurs when an administrative officer of a governmental agency unjustifiably denies access of the records to any citizen. This plaintiff had standing to bring injunctive action as a citizen and individual seeking relief. The denial of access to records falling within the Open Records Act is in and of itself a sufficient allegation of adverse affect and injury to maintain a suit challenging such denial. To hold otherwise would destroy and negate a statutorily created right.