By Amanda Lewis
Des Moines, IA (KCCI/CNN) - A former Des Moines, Iowa schools superintendent is fighting to keep emails she exchanged with a lover, secret.
The emails were sent over school computers and released as part of an open records request by the Des Moines Register newspaper.
Of all the things argued in court on Thursday, no one denied this.
"Dr. Sebring has at this point been personally and professionally destroyed," said Machelle Crum, an attorney for Nancy Sebring's lover.
After dozens of sexually explicit emails were released during an open records request, Sebring, the former Des Moines public schools superintendent, is seeking the right to examine all future open records requests so that she may challenge their release in court if she believes they don't qualify as a public record.
Attorney Patrick Smith represents the school district. He says it isn't the school's job to inform anyone that their name has come up in an open records request.
"She's requesting special rights that no citizen or any other person or organization has under the open records law," said Smith.
Mike Giudicessi, who represents the Des Moines Register, agrees.
"What Dr. Sebring wants to do is serve as the approver and the censor of open records requests," said Giudicessi.
He argues that all of the emails are public record.
"She first wrote these emails on public time using public computers, they were stored at public expense. She was being paid a handsome salary while she was doing this," said Giudicessi.
Dr. Sebring's lover was represented anonymously by Machelle Crum, who argued that no matter what the judge decided about the rest of the records, her client's identity should not be made public.
"This has become a bit of a witch hunt and it seems that everyone wants to know who my client is, and my client is purely a private person," said Crum.
She says she doesn't want her client to end up like Dr. Sebring.
"It seems as if she's wearing a scarlet letter. Truly there's not need to destroy another person's life," said Crum.
Sebring had landed a new job to lead Omaha, Nebraska schools.
She abruptly resigned in May, after the emails from Des Moines were released.
Sebring's anonymous lover presented an affidavit to the judge saying if his identity was released it would destroy his family and career.
The judge is expected to make a ruling on the emails soon.
KCCI/CNN