Lawsuits filed against Roanoke Sheriff and Radford City Council
Two FOIA lawsuits were filed the last week in September by two Roanoke media outlets.
The first suit, filed by The Roanoke Times and Roanoke TV station WSLS, is against Roanoke Sheriff Octavia Johnson over her office's policy on releasing mug shots. The policy does not allow the release of photos for people who have been arrested but released on bail. The Times and WSLS argue that mug shots must be released under FOIA -- regardless of bail status -- and that photos may be withheld only if they will jeopardize an ongoing investigation (once the danger has passed, they should be released, says the FOIA handbook published by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police).
Read about the mug shot case here.
The media outlets also point out the unfairness of the sheriff's policy in that the wealthier defendants who can afford to post bail can effectively escape public notice, but not poorer defendants.
The second suit was filed by The Roanoke Times against the City of Radford over FOIA requests themselves. The paper asked for FOIA requests received by the city over a 3-month period. Two documents turned over in the request were heavily redacted, and the paper is now challenging those redactions.
Read about the FOIA request suit here.
The first suit, filed by The Roanoke Times and Roanoke TV station WSLS, is against Roanoke Sheriff Octavia Johnson over her office's policy on releasing mug shots. The policy does not allow the release of photos for people who have been arrested but released on bail. The Times and WSLS argue that mug shots must be released under FOIA -- regardless of bail status -- and that photos may be withheld only if they will jeopardize an ongoing investigation (once the danger has passed, they should be released, says the FOIA handbook published by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police).
Read about the mug shot case here.
The media outlets also point out the unfairness of the sheriff's policy in that the wealthier defendants who can afford to post bail can effectively escape public notice, but not poorer defendants.
The second suit was filed by The Roanoke Times against the City of Radford over FOIA requests themselves. The paper asked for FOIA requests received by the city over a 3-month period. Two documents turned over in the request were heavily redacted, and the paper is now challenging those redactions.
Read about the FOIA request suit here.
