Evansville Courier & Press and Rita Ward v. Vanderburgh County Health Department
17 N.E.3d 922
| Ind. | 2014Background
- Indiana statutes require the physician or person in charge of interment to file a certificate of death with the local health officer, and the local health officer "shall retain a copy of the certificate of death." (Ind. Code ch. 16-37-3)
- Local health officers must also create a permanent death registration record that omits cause-of-death information; the State Department of Health separately maintains vital statistics and the Indiana Death Registration System.
- Rita Ward and the Evansville Courier & Press requested copies of county death certificates (including cause of death) from the Vanderburgh County Health Department; the Department refused, citing state statutes that limit public access to vital records and asserting it did not retain paper copies because the state system is maintained by the State Department of Health.
- Plaintiffs sued under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA), arguing county death certificates are public records subject to disclosure; the trial court granted summary judgment to the county and the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.
- The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer and addressed (1) whether county health departments must retain copies of death certificates and (2) whether death certificates are public records under APRA or exempt under statutes protecting vital statistics.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether local/county health departments must retain a copy of each death certificate filed | Statute mandates the local health officer “shall retain a copy of the certificate of death,” so counties must keep them | County asserted it no longer retained copies because electronic filings are maintained by the State system | The Court held the statute unambiguously requires local health departments to retain copies; the county must have them |
| Whether death certificates (including cause of death) are public records under APRA or are exempt/confidential under statutes governing vital statistics (Ind. Code §§ 16-37-1-8 and -10) | Death certificates are public records subject to APRA; there is no statutory exemption shielding county-held certificates from APRA | County argued sections 16-37-1-8 and 16-37-1-10 make death certificates confidential and therefore exempt from APRA disclosure | The Court held those statutes do not exempt county-held death certificates from APRA: § 16-37-1-8 governs certifications of registration (different document) and § 16-37-1-10 regulates state department records only; thus county death certificates are public records subject to disclosure |
Key Cases Cited
- Evansville-Vanderburgh Cnty. Dep’t of Health v. Evansville Printing Corp., 332 N.E.2d 829 (Ind. Ct. App. 1975) (held death certificates are public records and distinguished certificates of death from certifications of registration)
- Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Ass’n, Inc. v. Indianapolis Newspapers, Inc., 577 N.E.2d 208 (Ind. 1991) (places burden on public agency to justify nondisclosure under APRA)