Penncrest School District v. Cagle

Summary

This is a dissenting opinion by Justice Wecht of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in a Right-to-Know Law dispute concerning whether Facebook posts constitute agency records. The dissent argues that the Commonwealth Court improperly created a social-media-specific list of factors beyond the statutory definition of a record. Justice Wecht would reverse the Commonwealth Court and reinstate the trial court’s order requiring Penncrest School District to disclose the responsive Facebook posts.

Holdings

1. The dissent would hold that the Right-to-Know Law's statutory two-part inquiry is sufficient and that courts should not impose additional social-media-specific factors, such as the account's official trappings or whether the official had a duty to operate the account.
2. The dissent would hold that the responsive Facebook posts were records of Penncrest School District because their content documented agency business, and would require their disclosure.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Facebook posts may constitute agency records subject to disclosure under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law.
2. Whether courts may impose additional social-media-specific factors beyond the statutory definition of a record when determining whether Facebook posts are records of an agency.

Disposition

reversed