Opinion ID: 2740291
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Rita Ward’s Public Records Request

Text: In June 2012, Rita Ward sent a letter to the Vanderburgh County Health Department requesting “copies of records created under IC [§] 16-37-3-3 maintained by the Vanderburgh County Health Department for the month of May, 2012.” App. at 20. The Department denied her request, stating: “pursuant to I.C. [§] 16-37-1-10, in order to obtain a copy of a certificate of death, the purchaser must have a direct interest in the matter or the information must be necessary for the determination of a personal or property right or for the compliance with state or federal law.” App. at 21. Indiana Code section 16-37-1-10(a) (2008) provides, in pertinent part: The records and files of the division of the state department concerning vital statistics are subject to this article and rules of the state department. Data contained in the records and files may be disclosed only as follows: (1) The state registrar shall permit inspection of the records or issue a certified copy of a certificate or part of a certificate only if the state registrar is satisfied of the following: 5 (A) That the applicant has a direct interest in the matter recorded. (B) That the information is necessary for the determination of personal or property rights or for compliance with state or federal law. ... (2) The state department may permit the use of data contained in vital statistical records for research purposes only, but no identifying use may be made of the data. (3) In any extraordinary case that the state registrar determines is a direct tangible and legitimate public interest. The Department’s letter further stated Ward was free to come inspect any “permanent record” created pursuant to Indiana Code section 16-37-3-9(a). App. at 22. But permanent records do not contain cause of death information. See Ind. Code § 16-37-3-9(a) (specifying the content of a permanent record). Ward sought an advisory opinion from the Public Access Counselor of the State of Indiana. The Counselor issued an opinion concluding the Department’s denial of Ward’s request was permissible, but one week later, he issued an amended opinion stating the opposite: It should be noted that I.C. § 16-37-1-10 would only apply to records maintained by the State Department of Health. Thus, the Department could not deny your request pursuant to this section of the statute, as it is not a state department . . . . From what the law currently provides, while the State Department of Health could deny a similar request under I.C. § 16-37-1-10, the information as maintained by the local health department has not been afforded the same protections. App. at 26–27. The following day, the Evansville Courier & Press newspaper requested access to all Vanderburgh County death records dating from May 2012 that were “created under IC [§] 16-37-3-3.” App. at 28. The Department denied that request, stating it did “not have any 6 documents to copy which would be responsive” because the Indiana Death Registration System “eliminated all paper copies and . . . is maintained solely by the Indiana State Department of Health.” App. at 29. Thus, the Department claimed: “Under Indiana law, the County Health Department has no paper documents which it retains concerning I.C. [§] 16-37-3-3.” App. at 29. The Department noted the Courier & Press was not qualified to request records pursuant to Indiana Code section 16-37-3-8, and suggested the Courier & Press direct its request to the State Department of Health. Of course, as the Courier & Press likely could not satisfy the requirements of Indiana Code § 16-37-1-10(a), any request it made to the State Department likely would have been fruitless. Ward and the Courier & Press sued the Department to obtain access to the records they sought. They moved for summary judgment, arguing (1) Indiana Code section 16-37-3-3 required the Department to maintain a copy of each death certificate filed, (2) those death certificates were public records covered by the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, Ind. Code ch. 5-14-3, and (3) as there was no provision exempting the death certificates from APRA, the Department’s denials of their requests were unlawful. The trial court denied their motion and instead entered judgment in favor of the Department, concluding: The language set forth in I.C. [§] 16-37-3-3 conflicts with the specific language in I.C. § 16-37-1-8 and I.C. § 16-37-1-10 regarding who may legally obtain a copy of a death certificate. However, the statutory provision requiring the retention of a permanent record of deaths by all health departments in Indiana, including the County Health Department pursuant to I.C. [§] 16-37-3-9, clearly demonstrates the Indiana General Assembly’s intent to allow the public to inspect and copy certain death record information, but not “cause of death” information . . . unless the person seeking a copy of a death certificate can meet the statutory requirements set forth in I.C. § 16-37-1-8 or I.C. § 16-37-1-10. App. at 14. The plaintiffs appealed, and in a published opinion, a unanimous panel of our Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court. Evansville Courier & Press v. Vanderburgh Cnty. Health Dep’t, 993 N.E.2d 302, 306 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013). 7 We granted transfer. Evansville Courier & Press v. Vanderburgh Cnty. Health Dep’t, 2 N.E.3d 687 (Ind. 2014) (table); Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A).