PrepTest 102, Section 1, Question 6

Working the answers

• A

  The opponents of deletion argue that the public should be able to inspect government records. A court might accept that reasoning. We haven't seen such a ruling, but that doesn't make it unlikely.

• B

  This is a telephone conversation, not email. The opening says employer eavesdropping on private calls is illegal in many areas, even on company-owned phones. Liability for wiretapping fits that information.

• C
  Correct

  The paper versions are described as records “whose destruction is forbidden.” Allowing the government to destroy both formats would conflict with that rule. The defense of deleting emails depended on preserving paper versions; it didn't permit eliminating the records altogether.

• D

  This is essentially what happened in the automotive-company case. The court accepted the company's argument that it could monitor messages on its own system.

• E

  This adds something the automotive case didn't have: an assurance that emails wouldn't be monitored. The final paragraph says courts consider whether employees had a “reasonable expectation” of privacy. That assurance could help support such an expectation, so a ruling for the employee would fit the discussion. We don't have to guarantee a victory to see why C is less likely.