Guam § 10111 - Court Proceedings.

§ 10111. Court Proceedings.

(a) Any person making a request in any agency for public

records pursuant to § 10103 shall be deemed to have exhausted

his administrative remedies with respect to such request if the

agency fails to comply with the applicable time limit provisions

of that Section.

(b) Any person may institute proceedings for injunctive or

declarative relief or writ of mandate in the Superior Court of

Guam to enforce that person’s right to inspect or to receive a

copy of any public record or class of public records under this

Chapter. The times for responsive pleadings and for hearings in

these proceedings shall be set by the judge of the Court with the

object of securing a decision as to these matters at the earliest

possible time.

(c) Whenever it is made to appear by verified petition to the

Superior Court of Guam that certain public records are being

COL5/8/2020

improperly withheld from a member of the public, the Court

shall order the officer or person charged with withholding the

records to promptly disclose the public record or show cause

why the person should not do so. The Court shall decide the case

after examining the record in camera, papers filed by the parties

and any oral argument and additional evidence as the Court may

allow. The burden is on the agency to sustain its action. All

records shall be presumed public and the burden of establishing

that a document or record is private shall be upon the agency or

person claiming that the document on record should not be

disclosed or inspected.

(d) Except as to cases the Court considers of greater

importance, proceedings before the Superior Court, as authorized

by this Section, and appeals therefrom, take precedence over all

cases and shall be assigned for hearing and trial or for argument

at the earliest practicable date and expedited in every way.

(e) If the Court finds that the public official’s decision to

refuse disclosure is not justified under this Chapter, the Court

shall order the public official to make the record public. If the

judge determines that the public official was justified in refusing

to make the record public, the Court shall return the item to the

public official without disclosing its content with an order

supporting the decision refusing disclosure.