Transparency News 5/21/15
Thursday, May 21, 2015
State and Local Stories
Virginia won't be adding criminal penalties to its Freedom of Information Act any time soon. The state's FOIA Council shot that proposal down Wednesday afternoon without even needing to send it to a subcommittee for study. House Bill 2223, from Del. Rick Morris, R-Carrollton, would have made the deliberate refusal to release public information a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. The bill passed the House of Delegates earlier this year on a nearly unanimous vote, but the state Senate sent it to the FOIA Council – an appointed group that focuses on Virginia's open records and meetings laws – for further study. Five other bills were before the council Wednesday, and each was sent to a council subcommittee for more review. Morris' suggestion was dismissed without referral. "It just seems to me to be the wrong track to take," said state Sen. Richard Stuart, who chairs the council.
Daily Press
The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council is now examining legislation that could eliminate the ability of presidents and officials of higher education institutions to invoke FOIA exemptions to avoid providing working papers and correspondence. That bill is sponsored by Delegate David Ramadan. "We have good universities; they should work in openness just all of our government agencies in the Commonwealth with no exemption. And unfortunately, having a FOIA exemption is causing a lot of bad and negative reputation about some of our great universities because people get used to, 'Ok I have FOIA exemptions so why should I put this out there?' They start doing things they shouldn't be doing and saying things they shouldn't be saying."
WVTF
Records of expunged cases that an agency of the Virginia Supreme Court say keep it from releasing a statewide database of circuit court information are supposed to be deleted from all court databases and indexes, the agency's own manual says. But the Supreme Court's Office of the Executive Secretary says its database includes expunged records — and that it can't say how many, assistant executive secretary Edward Macon said. When a judge finds that keeping a record of a criminal charge would be a manifest injustice because the accused is innocent, circuit court clerks are supposed to follow a detailed process to make sure any records in police or court files are removed. "I don't understand why an expunged case would be in any state database," said Tim Clancy, a defense lawyer who has handled a number of petitions for expungement. "It seems to fly in the face of the expungement statute." Circuit court clerks say they make sure to delete records of expunged cases in the case management system the executive secretary's office maintains, as well as in their own records management systems. "If copies of the entire database are released to third parties, clerks lose the ability to remove cases that are expunged from the released database once the expungement orders are issued or to update cases reversed or dismissed following an appeal," Macon added. "One thing people don't always understand is when someone has come in and seen a record and walked out of our office with a copy, if the case is later expunged, we can't do a thing about it," said Davis, the Newport News clerk.
Daily Press
A Caroline County judge Wednesday ordered Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony G. “Tony” Spencer to step aside from future cases involving defense lawyer Melissa E. Danjczek.The decision follows an unusual incident last week when Spencer and Danjczek allegedly engaged in a brief tug-of-war over a guide that instructs prosecutors on how to handle DUI cases. Spencer alleges in court documents that Danjczek appeared in General District Court last week with the manual and that he attempted to retrieve it from her, prompting a lower court judge to take possession himself. Spencer subsequently obtained a warrant from a magistrate alleging that Danjczek improperly obtained the handbook sometime between October 2009 and this past week. The warrant alleges petty theft. Spencer said the Virginia State Police also are investigating the incident to determine if he may have assaulted Danjczek when he grabbed the volume from the defense table last week. The incident is recorded on a video surveillance camera.
Times-Dispatch
Ryan Bomberger may again refer to the NAACP as the "National Association for the Abortion of Colored People." An appellate court overruled a Norfolk federal judge this week, saying he was wrong to tell the Virginia Beach man and his nonprofit to stop referring to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People by the satirical name. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel ruled that organizations and businesses should not be able to use trademark law to combat critical speech. "Trademarks do not give their holders... the rights to stymie criticism," wrote Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. "Criticism of large and powerful entities in particular is vital to the democratic function." U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson last year ruled against Bomberger and The Radiance Foundation, which advocates for adoption and against abortion, among other things.
Virginian-Pilot
Following a public finance scandal that embroiled Charlottesville Office of Voter Registration, city officials and the city’s Electoral Board on Wednesday adopted a document outlining new procedures for the oversight of the registrar’s office. The memorandum of understanding reiterates responsibilities for the office of City Manager Maurice Jones and the Electoral Board and defines duties the board and city manager will have overseeing the registrar’s office. The board and city manager also are expected to meet annually to review the operations of the registrar’s office. A quarterly meeting between the Electoral Board chair and the City Manager is expected as well, according to the agreement. The memorandum states that the chairperson of the Electoral Board also is expected to conduct a quarterly review of all expenditures from the Office of Voter Registration and Elections to assure compliance with the city’s approved annual budget.
Daily Progress
National Stories
U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday released a trove of documents recovered during the 2011 raid on Usama bin Laden's compound -- offering a rare window into the operations of Al Qaeda and bin Laden's involvement in leading the network from his Pakistan hideaway. The documents include dozens of letters, some from bin Laden himself, as well as accounting information and even what appears to be an application form for prospective Al Qaeda members. That form, which asks a series of detailed questions, includes the line: "Who should we contact in case you became a martyr?"
Fox News
Editorials/Columns
Pete Burkhimer, an engineer and former Chesapeake councilman, told me Wednesday he misspoke. He didn't text "a couple" of Planning Commission members during a discussion weeks ago about a rezoning he'd sought for a project called Ida Gardens - though Burkhimer said, at a subsequent public meeting, he'd done just that. Blame it on his 67-year-old mind, he told me. Burkhimer, who represented the builder, said he confused the timeline of events: "I misremembered, blurred it together." That's certainly plausible. Yet it doesn't negate a larger issue that should trouble Chesapeake residents: Over the past 10 years, he's probably texted Planning Commission and City Council members "maybe a half-dozen times" during debates on various topics. Burkhimer said he doubts he's the only advocate who's texted public officials like this, and it would be naive to think otherwise.
Roger Chesley, Virginian-Pilot
State and Local Stories
Virginia won't be adding criminal penalties to its Freedom of Information Act any time soon. The state's FOIA Council shot that proposal down Wednesday afternoon without even needing to send it to a subcommittee for study. House Bill 2223, from Del. Rick Morris, R-Carrollton, would have made the deliberate refusal to release public information a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. The bill passed the House of Delegates earlier this year on a nearly unanimous vote, but the state Senate sent it to the FOIA Council – an appointed group that focuses on Virginia's open records and meetings laws – for further study. Five other bills were before the council Wednesday, and each was sent to a council subcommittee for more review. Morris' suggestion was dismissed without referral. "It just seems to me to be the wrong track to take," said state Sen. Richard Stuart, who chairs the council.
Daily Press
The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council is now examining legislation that could eliminate the ability of presidents and officials of higher education institutions to invoke FOIA exemptions to avoid providing working papers and correspondence. That bill is sponsored by Delegate David Ramadan. "We have good universities; they should work in openness just all of our government agencies in the Commonwealth with no exemption. And unfortunately, having a FOIA exemption is causing a lot of bad and negative reputation about some of our great universities because people get used to, 'Ok I have FOIA exemptions so why should I put this out there?' They start doing things they shouldn't be doing and saying things they shouldn't be saying."
WVTF
Records of expunged cases that an agency of the Virginia Supreme Court say keep it from releasing a statewide database of circuit court information are supposed to be deleted from all court databases and indexes, the agency's own manual says. But the Supreme Court's Office of the Executive Secretary says its database includes expunged records — and that it can't say how many, assistant executive secretary Edward Macon said. When a judge finds that keeping a record of a criminal charge would be a manifest injustice because the accused is innocent, circuit court clerks are supposed to follow a detailed process to make sure any records in police or court files are removed. "I don't understand why an expunged case would be in any state database," said Tim Clancy, a defense lawyer who has handled a number of petitions for expungement. "It seems to fly in the face of the expungement statute." Circuit court clerks say they make sure to delete records of expunged cases in the case management system the executive secretary's office maintains, as well as in their own records management systems. "If copies of the entire database are released to third parties, clerks lose the ability to remove cases that are expunged from the released database once the expungement orders are issued or to update cases reversed or dismissed following an appeal," Macon added. "One thing people don't always understand is when someone has come in and seen a record and walked out of our office with a copy, if the case is later expunged, we can't do a thing about it," said Davis, the Newport News clerk.
Daily Press
A Caroline County judge Wednesday ordered Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony G. “Tony” Spencer to step aside from future cases involving defense lawyer Melissa E. Danjczek.The decision follows an unusual incident last week when Spencer and Danjczek allegedly engaged in a brief tug-of-war over a guide that instructs prosecutors on how to handle DUI cases. Spencer alleges in court documents that Danjczek appeared in General District Court last week with the manual and that he attempted to retrieve it from her, prompting a lower court judge to take possession himself. Spencer subsequently obtained a warrant from a magistrate alleging that Danjczek improperly obtained the handbook sometime between October 2009 and this past week. The warrant alleges petty theft. Spencer said the Virginia State Police also are investigating the incident to determine if he may have assaulted Danjczek when he grabbed the volume from the defense table last week. The incident is recorded on a video surveillance camera.
Times-Dispatch
Ryan Bomberger may again refer to the NAACP as the "National Association for the Abortion of Colored People." An appellate court overruled a Norfolk federal judge this week, saying he was wrong to tell the Virginia Beach man and his nonprofit to stop referring to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People by the satirical name. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel ruled that organizations and businesses should not be able to use trademark law to combat critical speech. "Trademarks do not give their holders... the rights to stymie criticism," wrote Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. "Criticism of large and powerful entities in particular is vital to the democratic function." U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson last year ruled against Bomberger and The Radiance Foundation, which advocates for adoption and against abortion, among other things.
Virginian-Pilot
Following a public finance scandal that embroiled Charlottesville Office of Voter Registration, city officials and the city’s Electoral Board on Wednesday adopted a document outlining new procedures for the oversight of the registrar’s office. The memorandum of understanding reiterates responsibilities for the office of City Manager Maurice Jones and the Electoral Board and defines duties the board and city manager will have overseeing the registrar’s office. The board and city manager also are expected to meet annually to review the operations of the registrar’s office. A quarterly meeting between the Electoral Board chair and the City Manager is expected as well, according to the agreement. The memorandum states that the chairperson of the Electoral Board also is expected to conduct a quarterly review of all expenditures from the Office of Voter Registration and Elections to assure compliance with the city’s approved annual budget.
Daily Progress
National Stories
U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday released a trove of documents recovered during the 2011 raid on Usama bin Laden's compound -- offering a rare window into the operations of Al Qaeda and bin Laden's involvement in leading the network from his Pakistan hideaway. The documents include dozens of letters, some from bin Laden himself, as well as accounting information and even what appears to be an application form for prospective Al Qaeda members. That form, which asks a series of detailed questions, includes the line: "Who should we contact in case you became a martyr?"
Fox News
Editorials/Columns
Pete Burkhimer, an engineer and former Chesapeake councilman, told me Wednesday he misspoke. He didn't text "a couple" of Planning Commission members during a discussion weeks ago about a rezoning he'd sought for a project called Ida Gardens - though Burkhimer said, at a subsequent public meeting, he'd done just that. Blame it on his 67-year-old mind, he told me. Burkhimer, who represented the builder, said he confused the timeline of events: "I misremembered, blurred it together." That's certainly plausible. Yet it doesn't negate a larger issue that should trouble Chesapeake residents: Over the past 10 years, he's probably texted Planning Commission and City Council members "maybe a half-dozen times" during debates on various topics. Burkhimer said he doubts he's the only advocate who's texted public officials like this, and it would be naive to think otherwise.
Roger Chesley, Virginian-Pilot
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