Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem scolded North Dakota State University for botching a records request, and said the university should refund a $400 advance payment it received for the documents.

Suzzanne Kelley, the former managing editor of Agricultural History, a journal published at NDSU, had requested electronic mail messages sent and received by the journal's editor, Claire Strom, since Jan. 1, 2003. Strom is an NDSU assistant professor of history.

Kelley made the request on Sept. 7. The university asked to limit its scope, and did so anyway after Kelley declined, Stenehjem said in a legal opinion issued Thursday. Rick Johnson, a university attorney, asked for $400 to cover the school's costs, which Kelley paid in early November.

A month later, Johnson sent an e-mail message to Kelley, saying the records were almost ready and asking for another payment of $164. Kelley asked for more detail on the costs, then objected, saying they were not allowed by law.

Stenehjem, in his opinion, said Kelley should have been charged much less, and that state law did not allow NDSU to request reimbursement of some of the expenses it claimed. Kelley also asked for electronic records, and the university did not make a sufficient effort to provide them, the attorney general said.

"Under the circumstances, NDSU should return the $400 check to Kelley and provide her with the records she requested, free of charge," the attorney general wrote.

The opinion does not say why Kelley wanted the e-mails, and neither she nor Strom could be reached immediately for comment on Wednesday.

Stenehjem said part of the delay in providing the records was that Kelley had asked for a lot of information, but "the actions of NDSU contributed to the delay in providing the records, more than the breadth of Kelley's request."