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Board denies FOIA appeal for decades‑old prosecutor emails, declines to search personal staff accounts
Summary
The board voted to deny a FOIA appeal from Paula Kensu seeking emails related to a prosecutor's case from roughly 30 years ago; corporate counsel said staff personal/private emails are not county property and only one responsive county email was located and released.
Corporate Counsel Thaddeus Hackworth presented a FOIA request submitted by Paula Kensu on March 16, 2026, seeking email correspondence from the prosecutor’s office related to a criminal case prosecuted in St. Clair County roughly 30 years earlier. Staff located one responsive county email and provided it to the requester; the requester later sought searches of staff personal and private email accounts.
Hackworth explained that staff personal and private emails are not the property of the county and therefore were not subject to the search. The Board considered an appeal of the denial and Commissioner David Vollrath moved, with Commissioner Mamie Yarbrough seconding, to deny the FOIA appeal. The motion carried with no nays.
The board did not order additional searches of personal staff accounts. The denial was recorded as a formal board decision at the April 16 meeting.
