Lawyer targeting Modesto over policy of purging emails after 30 days

From The Modesto Bee:

An attorney claims Modesto is violating the state's public records law because the city's computers automatically purge emails once they are 30 days old.

Sacramento attorney Kelly T. Smith filed papers Friday in Stanislaus County Superior Court, asking a judge to order the city to stop deleting emails and revise its policies to come into compliance with the California Public Records Act.

The act requires local governments to make most of their records — such as settlement agreements to lawsuits and claims filed against them — available to the public for inspection and copying.