Agenda - Council - 09/25/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Publications Inc. v. City of St. Paul, 435 N.W.2d 64 (Minn. App. 1989) review denied March 29, 1989. In Northwest Publications, the St. Paul city council held a closed meeting to discuss threatened litigation over proposed ordinances regarding nude dancing. Litigation over this matter was a "virtual certainty." The Court of Appeals held that this meeting should have been open because there was no actual litigation. The Court of Appeals stated that the attorney-client privilege was not available when a governing body seeks to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed enactment which may give rise to future litigation.2! Dicta in the Northwest Publications decision also stated that even if litigation is pending, the public body must demonstrate that the need for confidentiality outweighs the right of the public to have access to public affairs. The test to be applied is whether "the balancing of the conflicting public policies dictates the need for absolute confidentiality." Northwest Publications, 435 N.W.2d at 67. Based on this test, it will be difficult to defend some challenges to closed meetings where the attorney- client privilege is alleged as the reason for closing the meeting. One defense would be to argue that the recent statutory change allowing a public body to close meetings if it is permitted by the attorney-client privilege changed the law and permits the public body to close its meetings when meeting with its attorney. However this argument runs counter to the presumption of openness applied when construing the Open Meeting Law. 21 Northwest Publications, 435 N.W.2d at 67. 13