From Sean Cockerham in Juneau --

A superior court judge today ruled in favor of Sarah Palin in the lawsuit filed by Andree McLeod against Palin's use of personal email accounts for state business.

"A great number of Alaskans may share McLeod's belief that the governor and top staff should not be communicating by unsecure, private accounts, but if such actions are not prohibited by state law, then closing this perceived "loop-hole" is a matter for the consideration of the Legislature. It is not this Court's job to legislate a ban to a lawful practice," the ruling said.

Judge Patrick McKay also terminated a ruling from last year that ordered Palin to preserve e-mails she's sent from or received at private e-mail accounts.

McLeod and others have been seeking Palin's emails.

McLeod said in the lawsuit that Palin and her officials violated the public records law by using off-the-record networks to communicate about state policy and matters of public concern.

Gov. Sean Parnell banned his predecessor's e-mail practices after taking office in July, but the Attorney General's office fought McLeod's lawsuit.

We'll have a full story up as soon as it's ready. In the meantime, read the ruling here.