Transparency News 12/12/14
State and Local Stories
A note from the attorney, Alice Lucan, involved in the case seeking to unseal a plea agreement in Rockbridge County:
As Roanoke reported, Judge Swett said we had done a great service to the Rockbridge Circuit (where he was sitting by appointment for this case), because we had outlined law that may not be familiar to many. He thanked W&L Journalism Department Head Brian Richardson for his persistence in bringing the First Amendment question to the court. He said he takes the First Amendment very seriously, that it is the most cherished recitation of important rights that we hold as citizens, and the public has a right of access to records that are part of a court’s file.
He listed the steps that must be taken before closure or sealing:
- That the court start with a presumption against closure or sealing
- That notice to the public had to be provided before closure or sealing could take place
- That a hearing should be held where the burden is on the moving party to demonstrate’ a substantial probability that the information will interfere with fair trial rights.
This part of his ruling gives a great boost to transparency in the courts in Rockbridge County.
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On Tuesday night, as his final meeting as a member of Petersburg City Council drew to a close, Ken Pritchett introduced a motion that will eventually close the city’s jail and could cost 61 deputies their jobs. The matter wasn’t on the agenda. The public was never notified. Petersburg Sheriff Vanessa Crawford had left the building. And City Manager William E. Johnson III, according to a spokeswoman, was completely unaware that it would be considered. Asked why he didn’t get the item put on Tuesday’s agenda to give others time to respond, Pritchett replied, “Honestly, I didn’t think about it until Tuesday morning.” Petersburg spokeswoman Jay Ell Alexander said Thursday, “This was a policy decision that neither required notice nor did it require public commentary.”
Times-Dispatch
The Virginia Beach jail's former medical provider is fighting the release of how much it paid to settle a lawsuit stemming from the 2011 death of an inmate who choked on her plastic identification bracelet. The family of Jacquelynn Schwartz agreed June 23 to the settlement with Conmed Inc. and three of its nurses. The amount and terms weren't included in the case's records in Newport News Circuit Court, where the wrongful-death suit was adjudicated. The Pilot filed a request for that information to be made public, citing a Virginia statute dictating that petitions for such agreements should include "the compromise, its terms and the reason." Newport News Circuit Judge Timothy Fisher agreed during a Dec. 2 hearing. Conmed attorney Jeff Rosen said he plans to appeal the decision and request that the settlement be sealed, according to court records.
Virginian-Pilot
Still reeling from shattered allegations of gang rape at a school fraternity, the University of Virginia has rejected several records requests related to the scandal and ignored questions about whether an independent counsel’s review will be made public. That, along with university President Teresa A. Sullivan’s response to the firestorm, is raising eyebrows among lawmakers and drawing criticism from faculty and communications and open government experts. “Folks want to know what the university may have known, when and what steps were taken,” said Del R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta.
Daily Progress
Virginia's appointed boards and commissions still look whiter and more male than the state does, buy Gov. Terry McAuliffe's first year in office saw him naming more women and African Americans to boards than his predecessors. Here's a sketch of his appointees, based on an annual report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth: 42 percent are women (51 percent for the state, 35.5 percent in Gov. Bob McDonnell's last year, 41 percent in Tim Kaine's last year, 36 percent in Warner’s); 15 percent are African American (20 percent for the state, 10 percent in McDonnell's last year, 14 percent in Kaine's, 14.5 percent in Warner’s); 3 percent are Hispanic (9 percent for the state, 2 percent for McDonnell, 4 percent for Kaine, 1.5 percent for Warner); 2 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander (6 percent for the state, 3 percent for McDonnell, 3 percent for Kaine, 2 percent for Warner.)
Daily Press
Troubled by the lack of information that has emerged about the Fairfax County police killing of John Geer in August 2013, a group of citizens has launched a protest movement called “Justice for John Geer.” The group is unrelated to, and has not contacted, Geer’s family or their lawyers, but since it launched late last month claims to already have 100 members and an active Facebook page where discussions are underway about actions the group might take to produce results. Mike Curtis, a property manager from Manassas, helped form the “Justice for John Geer” group as an off-shoot ofCopBlock.org, a national police accountability group, and Northern Virginia CopBlock, a regional version. “We can’t identify who killed this man,” Curtis said. “It it’s an accident, why not just say it’s an accident. Why has it lasted so long? This man’s got children, a common law wife, parents. You just shoot him and you can’t even tell why or who?”
Washington Post
National Stories
After passing the Senate by unanimous consent on Monday, it seemed as if the FOIA Improvement Act would become law—a nearly identical version passed the House earlier this year. Yesterday, however, it was up to Speaker of the House John Boehner to allow a vote on the bill’s final passage before the House adjourned this week. Instead, it was “held at the desk,” meaning Boehner may have just killed FOIA reform.Newsweek
Editorials/Columns
Herald-Progress
