Other
-
Clay v. City of Richmond (demurrer)
A Richmond Circuit Court judge rejects the City of Richmond’s attempt to have the city’s former FOIA officer’s, Connie Clay, whistleblower lawsuit thrown out.
-
Courthouse News Service v. Smith
4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says the limit the Virginia court system places on access to civil case materials online — which is limited to attorneys only — is a reasonable time, place and manner restriction.
-
Town of South Hill v. Hawkins (COA)
The Court of Appeals affirms the trial court’s decisions requiring several documents to be released with minimal redactions. They do not constitute personnel information as defined by the Virginia Supreme Court (the first time this case went through the appeals process) because disclosure would not be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy to a reasonable…
-
Daily Press v. Commonwealth (Supreme Court)
A unanimous Supreme Court ruled there is a presumptive right of access by the public to bond hearings. A Newport News circuit court judge erred by closing a bond hearing for a police officer accused of second-degree murder.
-
Courthouse News Service v. Hade (federal district court)
The Virginia Officer of the Court Remote Access electronic case file system of circuit courts maintained by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia does not violate the First Amendment rights of access to court records, even though it is limited to use by Virginia-licensed attorneys, their staff and related government…
-
Keefe v. Lovettsville
Loudoun County General District Court Judge Matthew Snow rules the town violated FOIA when it required a deposit of $115 (FOIA says a deposit can be requested for amounts over $200) and when the requester said she was going to ask the FOIA Council for its opinion, the town said it considered such an action…
-
In Re: Honorable Adrianne L. Bennett (SCOVA)
In Re: Honorable Adrianne L. Bennett The Virginia Supreme Court rules, 4-2, that the exhibits a judge filed in the Supreme Court along with a petition for mandamus should remain under seal, though the rest of the papers filed in the case, and the order sealing all the files should be unsealed. (The dissent reveals…
-
AG informal opinion on OCRA
An assistant AG offered an informal opinion to the Prince William Circut Court clerk that nothing in the statutes governing remote access to non-confidential court files barred clerks from granting such access to the press.
-
CNS v. Schaefer (4th Circuit)
In ruling in favor of Courthouse News Service, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled June 24, 2021, that the clerks of the Norfolk and Prince William County circuit courts violated the press’ First Amendment rights by delaying access to newly filed civil complaints.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-01-16
Records that have been prepared by or for the Office of the Governor for personal or deliberative use may be withheld as working papers. However, if those records are disseminated by the Office of the Governor to another agency for that agency’s use in carrying out its statutory duties, then the records may not be…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-14
FOIA does not define the term "custodian," but for FOIA purposes, generally the custodian is the person in charge of public records. Each public body may designate who is to act as custodian of its public records. FOIA does not apply to records that are not public records in the transaction of public business.
-
Virginia Broadcasting Corp. v. Commonwealth
Virginia Supreme Court rules trial court did not err in refusing TV station’s request to have cameras present during the sentencing phase of convicted murder defendant George Huguely. The court attempted to reconcile two seemingly contradictory phrases within the statute and while setting forth the specific procedure to be used in the future, acknowledged that…
-
Attorney General Opinion 13-036
New law (effective date July 1, 2013) restricting access to concealed weapons permits is retroactive, and declares that court orders granting permits must be blocked from access, too.
-
Daily Press v. Commonwealth
Virginia Supreme Court rules that Newport News judge wrongly sealed trial exhibits.
-
Project Vote v. Long
4th Circuit rules that completed voter registration forms, with Social Security numbers redacted, must be disclosed under the National Voter Registration Act.
-
Hill v. Fairfax County School Board
The Supreme Court of Virginia rules that the rapid and extensive exchange of emails leading up to a meeting is not itself a meeting triggering FOIA’s requirements.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-10-09
Certain portions of FOIA’s criminal records exemptions are currently limited to use only by local law enforcement agencies, not the State Police.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-09
Section 15.2-2907 says that certain meetings that are or would be subject to review by the Commission on Local Government — like consolidation and annexation discussions — are not subject to FOIA.
-
Perreault v. The Free Lance-Star (Va. Supreme Court)
The settlement terms of several wrongful death lawsuits brought in Spotsylvania County against a pharmaceutical company must be disclosed publicly and cannot be sealed in the court records, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled. The unanimous opinion upholds a circuit court ruling that it was improper to permit the suits to be settled without the details…
-
Ostergren v. McDonnell (federal district court)
Virginia law barring people from posting Social Security numbers on the Internet is unconstitutional as applied to a privacy advocate’s Web site as it existed at the time of the lawsuit.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-08
Weekends and legal holidays are not counted as working days when computing the five working day time limit for a response to a request for public records. A public body must inform a requester in writing when it does not have the records the requester seeks. Clear communications are essential to the operation of FOIA.
-
Rivera v. Long (Virginia Supreme Court)
Where the Social Security numbers are redacted from voter registration application records, the documents will no longer be exempt from inspection.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-12-07
If a public body denies a request for public records in whole or part, it must send the requester a written response citing the law that allows the records to be withheld. The release of certain Department of Social Services records pertaining to child support enforcement matters is prohibited by law under Title 63.2 of…