Other
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-17-02
The Halifax Industrial Development Authority is a public body subject to FOIA. The FOI Advisory Council’s formal written and informal opinions are advisory only; they do not carry the enforcement authority of a court ruling.
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Globe Newspaper Company v. Commonwealth
Newspapers asked to obtain DNA evidence from a criminal trial and subject it to retesting under modern methods. The Court affirmed a lower court’s decision to deny that request. The right of access to the courts is not so broadly defined under the United States or Virginia Constitutions. Furthermore, the DNA evidence was not a…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-11-02
The FOI Advisory Council does not have authority to interpret the First Amendment. A circuit court is subject to FOIA. If the clerk’s office maintains a digital database of land conveyances, that database must be made accessible to a requester.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-10-02
a list of delinquent real property taxpayers with parcel ID, legal description, and owner’s name with mailing address is a public record under FOIA. If government maintains a record on a computer disk, a requester can agree to receive a requested record in that form and pay a reasonable cost for it, not to exceed…
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Carr v. Forbes Inc. (4th Cir. on libel)
An engineer who sued a magazine for defamation had made himself a limited-purpose public figure by his role in choosing and publicizing contracts. He could not show that the magazine acted with . . .actual malice.’
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-22-01
Attorney-client privilege exemption gives record custodian discretion to release as much or as little of exempt record to anyone; distribution to one person does not destroy the exemption.
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Smith v. Richmond Newspapers
Present: All the Justices YVONNE G. SMITH v. RICHMOND NEWSPAPERS, INC., ET AL. Record No. 000337 January 12, 2001 FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF HENRICO COUNTY George F. Tidey, Judge OPINION BY JUSTICE LAWRENCE L. KOONTZ, JR. In this appeal, we consider whether audio tape recordings of a felony criminal trial are open to inspection…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-01-01
Use of an e-mail network listserv by city council members is an improper electronic meeting under FOIA.
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Bell v. Jarvis (4th Cir. on public trials)
A man convicted of sexually abusing his step-granddaughter objected when the public and press were removed from the courtroom while she testified. On direct appeal, his lawyer failed to make a 6th Amendment claim to a public trial. The state courts summarily rejected petitioner’s state habeas claim that failure to pursue the Sixth Amendment violation…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-15-00
Information regarding access to court records, specifically divorce records, is outside the scope of FOIA.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-00
Freedom of Information Advisory Council, FOIAC, not authorized to give citizens or news reporters advice about how to deal with the State Corporation Commission
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-01-00
Inquiries as to the status of e-mail under the Freedom of Information Act, charges for electronic records, the working papers exemption, assessment of fees for producing a requested record, the meaning of ‘reasonable specificity’
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Attorney General’s Opinion 2000 #031
A circuit court clerk may provide access to case management data through the Internet.
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Hertz v. Times-World Corp.
The Bedford County Circuit Court granted writs of mandamus to two newspapers, ordering that transcripts from several criminal hearings be made public. Two of the hearings involved juveniles and two involved adults accused of sexual crimes, in which numerous juvenile witnesses were required to testify. The Court reversed those writs of mandamus. The newspapers should…
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Food Lion Inc. v. Capital Cities/ABC Inc. (4th Cir. on media law)
Defendant reporters got jobs with Food Lion through misrepresentation and made a videotape, which was aired on ABC, of the store’s unwholesome food handling practices. (1) The court held that, since the reporters were at-will employees for an indefinite period, there was no reliance on their misrepresentations that would support a fraud claim. (2) However,…
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Attorney General’s Opinion 1999 #012
A public body may exchange messages via e-mail without the communication being considered a meeting. No official meeting can be conducted without the body’s members being physically present.
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Yeagle v. Collegiate Times (Va. Supreme Court on libel)
Yeagle, a college employee, filed a complaint against Virginia Tech’s Collegiate Times, alleging defamation after the phrase . . .director of butt licking’ appeared under her name in an article. Her suit was dismissed, and the Court upheld that dismissal. As a matter of law, the phrase could not convey a defamatory meaning. It contained…
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Snyder v. Ringgold (4th Cir. on access to records)
Ringgold, a police official, restricted a reporter’s access to police department information, after she aired a story about possible department corruption, by only communicating with her in writing and prohibiting her from any exclusive interviews with department personnel. The reporter brought a §1983 action, claiming that the restrictions violated her 1st 14th Amendment rights. After…
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Shenandoah Publishing House v. Warren County School Board
Decided City Council did not violate FOIA by meeting in closed session; Shenandoah Publishing House Inc. v. The Winchester City Council; Chancery No. 95-156.
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RF&P Corp. v. Little
A corporation to which the Virginia Retirement System appoints two board of trustee members is not a public body under FOIA. A willful and knowing violation of FOIA warrants the imposition of a civil penalty.
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Shenandoah Publishing House v. Warren County School Board
FOIA violations made in good faith do not require the imposition of civil penalties
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In Re: Shain (4th Cir. on confidential sources)
Four South Carolina reporters who covered the bribery investigation of several state legislators were subpoenaed to testify in the subsequent criminal trial. Even after their motion to quash the subpoenas failed, the reporters refused to comply, asserting that: 1) they had a qualified privilege against being compelled to testify on newsgathering; and 2) the subpoenas…
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Little v. Virginia Retirement System
an individual’s wilful and knowing violation of FOIA merits penalty
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Gannon v. State Corporation Commission
A plaintiff must exhaust all available state remedies in an action against an agency before proceeding to circuit court.
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Reuber v. Food Chemical News Inc. (4th Cir. on libel)
Reuber, a scientist, declared himself a whistleblower and created the misleading impression that a controversial pesticide was carcinogenic. A newsletter published his employer’s reprimand, which stated that Reuber had engaged in unprofessional conduct. He sued for defamation and won in a jury trial which awarded him compensatory and punitive damages. On appeal, the Court reversed…