The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unanimously that the City of Phoenix must release records related to its police union collective bargaining negotiations. The court found that withholding the documents during ongoing talks violated public records laws, reversing lower court decisions that had allowed temporary nondisclosure to protect the negotiation process, according to the court’s opinion.
The unanimous ruling in *Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research Center v. City of Phoenix* requires the city to release records related to its collective bargaining negotiations with the Phoenix Police Officers Association before the conclusion of those talks, according to the Arizona Supreme Court’s opinion issued Thursday. The court vacated the Arizona Court of Appeals’ decision and reversed the Maricopa County Superior Court’s judgment, which had permitted temporary nondisclosure of bargaining materials until a new agreement was finalized.
The case arose after the Goldwater Institute submitted public-records requests seeking drafts, proposals, and communications concerning the city’s police labor negotiations, including documents related to the union’s failure to submit a timely proposal, under Arizona Revised Statutes § 39-121.
Phoenix denied access to these materials during ongoing negotiations, arguing that disclosure would jeopardize the bargaining process by subjecting negotiators to political pressure, enabling collusion, and chilling candid discussions, according to court filings and the city’s statements.
The Superior Court initially sided with Phoenix, allowing the city to withhold the records temporarily, concluding that the risk to the negotiation process outweighed the public’s interest in immediate access. The Court of Appeals affirmed the legal framework but remanded the case for an in camera review—confidential examination by the trial court—to identify specific documents that could be withheld, particularly those duplicative of previously public agreements.
The Supreme Court’s ruling rejects the city’s argument that disclosure must be delayed until after negotiations conclude, holding that Phoenix must provide the requested records during the litigation. The court emphasized that public entities are not required to prove that disclosure is “more likely than not” to cause specific, material harm as a threshold for withholding records. However, the government must demonstrate some non-speculative likelihood of particular harm; generalized or hypothetical concerns are insufficient, the opinion states.
The court clarified the application of the common-law “best interests of the state” exception to public-records disclosure under A.R.S. § 39-121, applying the *Carlson* balancing test. This test requires courts to weigh Arizona’s strong presumption in favor of public access against evidence of likely specific harm from disclosure. The court instructed that trial courts must conduct detailed, record-specific analyses rather than issuing blanket nondisclosure orders for entire categories of documents.
On remand, the Superior Court must perform an in camera review of the disputed records, examining both unredacted documents and redacted versions that reflect Phoenix’s claimed bases for withholding. This process aims to enable tailored judicial review and maximize transparency while protecting legitimately sensitive negotiation details, according to the court’s opinion.
The ruling also directs appellate courts to defer to trial-court factual findings unless clearly erroneous but to review legal balancing of interests de novo, independently determining whether the evidence supports withholding under the best-interests exception. The Supreme Court’s decision modernizes Arizona’s public-records doctrine by rejecting a rigid “probability of harm” standard, mandating de novo appellate review, and elevating the role of in camera review and redactions in cases involving ongoing labor negotiations.
Goldwater Institute attorney Parker Jackson said the ruling requires Phoenix to disclose the requested records during the litigation, not only after negotiations conclude. The Arizona League of Cities and Towns had filed a brief urging the Court to affirm the Court of Appeals’ approach, arguing that existing precedent allows nondisclosure based on the probability of harm and that courts rarely uphold nondisclosure orders. However, the Supreme Court’s opinion rejected that position, emphasizing the need for particularized evidence of harm.
The case sets a precedent for increased real-time public access to government labor-negotiation records across Arizona, particularly those involving police unions. By limiting the ability of public entities to postpone disclosure until after agreements are finalized, the decision signals that speculative claims of harm are insufficient to withhold records during negotiations.
The case was remanded to the Maricopa County Superior Court for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion, including the mandated in camera review, application of the clarified standard, and timely disclosure of records that do not qualify for withholding. The ruling is expected to influence future public-records litigation involving ongoing negotiations and the best-interests exception statewide.
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