Court Opinion

ID: 9575583
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:15:04.914186+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:48:34.419017
License: Public Domain

*480Fletcher, Justice,
dissenting.
OCGA § 50-18-70 (b) provides, in pertinent part, that all public records, “except those which by order of a court of this state or by law are prohibited or specifically exempted from being open to inspection by the general public, shall be open for a personal inspection. . . .”
In Houston v. Rutledge, 237 Ga. 764 (229 SE2d 624) (1976), this Court established a balancing test, requiring the judiciary to balance the interest of the public in favor of disclosure of public records against the interest of the public in favor of nondisclosure, in determining whether public records, which are not prohibited “by law” from being made available for public inspection, should be so prohibited by court order.
OCGA § 50-18-72 (a) provides, in pertinent part, that the Open Records Act is not applicable to records “the disclosure of which would be an invasion of personal privacy.” Under OCGA § 50-18-70 (a), such records are prohibited “by law” from being disclosed. It is nonetheless true that the privacy rights, of the individual, protected by OCGA § 50-18-72 (a), must be tempered by the right of the public to be informed of matters of public concern, as recognized in Athens Observer v. Anderson, 245 Ga. 63 (263 SE2d 128) (1980), and Harris v. Cox Enterprises, 256 Ga. 299 (348 SE2d 448) (1986).
However, OCGA § 50-18-70 (b)’s balancing test, and OCGA § 50-18-72 (a)’s limitation on public disclosure of records that would be an invasion of personal privacy, are two distinct inquiries. Cf. Northside Realty Assoc. v. Community Relations Comm., 240 Ga. 432 (241 SE2d 189) (1978), with Athens Observer v. Anderson, supra. To apply the balancing test to only those cases in which an unwarranted intrusion into an individual’s privacy is at stake, as was done in the Bd. of Regents case and now in this case, is to in large part eviscerate it.
I respectfully dissent as to Division 5 and the judgment.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Justice Smith joins in this dissent.