Transparency News 8/8/17

Tuesday, August 8, 2017



State and Local Stories

A General District judge in Accomack County has ruled that Virginia Circuit Court judges are not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. Judge Gordon Vincent ruled Aug. 3 in a case brought by Accomack County resident Dr. William H. Turner against two state offices — the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Turner since 2015 has made dozens of requests, citing the Freedom of Information Act, related to judges’ expense accounts — including sending letters to individual judges as well as to the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the Executive Secretary. "The central issue in this case is whether the Freedom of Information Act allows a citizen to require a Circuit Court judge to produce documents in the judge's sole possession that would account for the judge's use of an annual $1,500 state payment for work-related expenses," Vincent wrote in a lengthy opinion issued Aug. 3. “The answer is no,” concluded Vincent, after hearing testimony at a July trial and reviewing the law.
DelmarvaNow

Citing concerns for security and safety, Charlottesville officials on Monday said they will approve a demonstration permit for Saturday’s Unite the Right rally organized by pro-white activists if the rally is moved to McIntire Park. But Jason Kessler, who is organizing the rally, says he won’t accept the condition because McIntire Park lacks the symbolism provided by the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has stood in Emancipation Park, recently renamed from Lee Park, since the 1920s.
Daily Progress

Two top officials in Colonial Beach have been placed on administrative leave.  The cause was not clear Monday for why town manager Valda Foulds and town treasurer and chief financial officer Joan Grant were penalized.  During a Saturday work session, the Town Council went into closed session to discuss "two specific employees," according to a recording of the meeting.  After returning, the council unanimously voted for Foulds and Grant to be placed on immediate paid administrative leave. 
Free Lance-Star

The Front Royal Town Council filled one of its vacant seats Monday after weeks of interviews and discussions behind closed doors. The council voted 4-0 at a special meeting to appoint Gary Gillispie to serve out the rest of Councilwoman Bébhinn Egger’s term set to expire Dec. 31, 2018. Egger resigned at the end of June because she moved out of the state. The council went immediately into closed session at the beginning of the special meeting to discuss the appointment. Councilman John Connolly made the motion first to add the closed session to the agenda for the special meeting because the item did not appear on the agenda made public prior to Monday night. The council voted 4-0 to add the closed session to the agenda. The council came out of closed session and Connolly made the motion to appoint Gillispie to fill the vacant seat.
Northern Virginia Daily

Four University of Richmond law students think they have a better idea for giving ordinary citizens their own voice at the state cap­itol. The quartet has launched a project that uses crowd funding to finance lob­bying efforts on selected issues. Their CrowdLobby website is already gener­ating money for six lobbying campaigns.
Virginia Lawyers Weekly (paywall)



National Stories
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A Cook County (Illinois) judge has ruled that the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the county itself violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in a case brought against them by a legal intern, the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) report. Judge Franklin Valderrama ordered the two entities to pay $5,000 in attorney fees and penalties, the ECW said on its Illinois Leaks website. Valderrama determined that the sheriff’s office cannot assume acceptance of FOIA deadline extensions based on a non-response from the requester. Valderrama also said the office did not sufficiently justify its denial of Cunniff’s request.
Chicago City Wire

Did Wheeling (Illinois) really spend more than $144,000 to supply a resident with documents she'd requested under the Freedom of Information Act? Or is the village using big cost estimates to deter her requests? According to a letter signed and published by the village board in late June, Wilson has sent about 1,000 emails and filed more than 50 public records requests since October. Responding has cost taxpayers $144,000, the village states. In a public records request, the Daily Herald asked for documentation to support claims in the letter. Here's an analysis of the numbers provided by the village.
Daily Herald

A federal appeals court has turned down Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's emergency request to escape a deposition set for Thursday about voter registration proposals he took into a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump last November. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals offered no detailed reason for rejecting Kobach's plea but simply said his arguments did not meet the court's standards to act.
Politico

Loretta Lynch used the alias “Elizabeth Carlisle” for official emails as attorney general, including those related to her infamous tarmac meeting last summer with former President Clinton. The emails were included in 413 pages of Justice Department documents provided to conservative watchdog groups Judicial Watch and American Center for Law and Justice. Top federal officials using email aliases is not illegal or new, considering others in the former Obama administration also used them, arguing security concerns and spam to their official email addresses swamping their in-boxes. Eric Holder, Lynch’s predecessor, used “Lew Alcindor,” the former name of retired NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. However, critics of the practice argue that such aliases can result in some requested emails to and from officials going undetected.
Fox News