Mississippi Public Records Act: Request for email correspondence with David Ruth

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Mississippi Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All email correspondence, including all underlying attachments contained therein, sent to, from or cc'd between employees of the Mississippi State Department of Health (including but not limited to employees of the Rankin County Health Department) and David Ruth (work email: druth@rankincounty.org; or any personal email accounts) between December 1, 2021, and the date this request is ultimately fulfilled.

We, Documenting COVID-19, are a nonprofit organization working on behalf of news organizations, academics and other public bodies to provide clear, timely information for public dissemination. We have recently published our findings in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications.

This information is in the public interest as coronavirus remains a threat to public health. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than the required amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.

For any documents that are withheld on the grounds of an exemption, privilege, or other reason, please justify each omission separately by reference to specific exemptions of the law, and release all reasonably segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Dillon Bergin