Great Public Records Act Court Decision: Zink v. City of Mesa

Today the Court of Appeals issued a decision in Zink v. City of Mesa. It holds that there is no limit to the number of requests a person may make. It also holds that an agency must actually properly respond to each request; "substantial compliance" (that is, "we sorta tried") is not enough. The bottom line of Zink: an agency must respond to public records requests even if doing so is a hassle. It's the law. See RCW 42.56.550(3): "Courts shall take into account the policy of [the Act] that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others." (emphasis added).