Transparency News, 11/2/2022

Wednesday
November 2, 2022

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state & local news stories

"The county provided a transcript of an internal interview with the police officer in which his name was redacted and a copy of a video of the session that had his face blurred out."

Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office has received a nearly $20,000 deposit from Virginia’s NAACP chapter to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request concerning the office’s Election Integrity Unit. He said the organization sent Miyares’ office a letter on Sept. 14 asking for records related to the establishment of the Election Integrity Unit, as well as its expenditures and activities. It also requested records of documented cases of election fraud in Virginia. Robert Barnette,president of Virginia’s NAACP, said the attorney general’s office responded by quoting about 500 hours of estimated time to produce the records and a nearly $20,000 deposit. He added that he feels the price of the FOIA is a tactic to dissuade the NAACP from pursuing its request. Miyares spokesperson Victoria LaCivita said state law allows public bodies to charge compensation for time and resources to fill FOIA requests. “This is a matter of state law,” she said. “We have nothing to hide, and the responsive documents will be provided in a timely manner.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Note: State law ALLOWS for the charges, it doesn't mandate them.

A circuit judge has ordered Roanoke County to release the name of a police officer who is accused in a lawsuit of fatally shooting an unarmed man. Judge James Swanson made the decision Monday in a disputed Freedom of Information Act request by Roanoke attorney Terry Grimes, who last month filed a federal lawsuit that referred to the officer only as John Doe after the county refused to identify him. Roanoke County Attorney Peter Lubeck argued unsuccessfully in state court that the officer’s identity should be protected because he was the victim of a crime. Shawn Smith, who was shot while standing inside a screened porch of his suburban home the night of Nov. 26, 2021, was believed to have a firearm at the time and was acting aggressively toward police, Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian Holohan said in determining that lethal force was justified. Grimes submitted a FOIA request to the Roanoke County Police Department in May that sought a number of documents related to the department’s investigation of the incident. After demanding a down payment of $1,500 toward a total charge of $3,450, the county responded by providing, among other things, a transcript of an internal interview with the police officer in which his name was redacted and a copy of a video of the session that had his face blurred out.
The Roanoke Times
Note: The FOIA request was filed under the previous version of the law that gave some measure of access to closed criminal investigative files. That law was effectively repealed as of July 1. Though the current law allows some access by crime victims, this case shows that the question of who is the victim isn't always so clear-cut.

The Virginia State Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of five Prince William Board of Supervisors accused of violating the state's open meetings laws in the hours after unprecedented riots.  Richmond attorney Patrick McSweeny argued for county residents Alan Gloss and Carol Fox. Both allege the five Democrats on the Board of County Supervisors violated the law when they attended a meeting of the county police department's Citizen Advisory Board, which hastily gathered at noon on May 30, 2020. 
Potomac Local

While thousands of Prince William County residents are heading to bed, county officials are on the verge of a monumental decision. The Board of County Supervisors got underway with its public hearing on the proposed PW Digital Gateway data center complex at 10:37 p.m. Tuesday. As the meeting started, 254 people were signed up to speak at the public hearing with 137 registered virtually, although many people double booked in-person and online appearances. If all the people signed up in person remain at the meeting, the hearing would last more than 12 hours. The meeting is expected to last well into the morning on Wednesday.
InsideNoVa

Voters in Virginia Beach didn’t elect three sitting members of the Virginia Beach City Council. Rocky Holcomb, Linwood Branch and Delceno Miles were appointed by their colleagues to fill vacancies, a process that Councilman John Moss and others want to change. “Shouldn’t the people be picking who serves?” asked Moss in an interview Monday. When there’s an unoccupied position on the City Council, the body must appoint a new member within 45 days or Circuit Court judges will make the decision, according to the city charter. Moss wants to amend the charter, requiring a special election to fill a vacancy. He first brought up the idea last year, with Councilmen Aaron Rouse and Guy Tower supporting. Moss’s proposal has advanced into a draft of Virginia Beach’s 2023 legislative package.
The Virginian-Pilot

Buried within an explosive lawsuit filled with allegations of bribes and misconduct involving Portsmouth City Council members is a brief cameo appearance of an NBA basketball player from Portsmouth. It’s only two paragraphs, nestled about 10 pages into former City Manager Angel Jones’ lawsuit against the city, but she alleges Vice Mayor De’Andre Barnes attempted to solicit a bribe from the family of Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith. Reached by phone Monday, Barnes denied the allegation and didn’t want to comment further. He has previously called the lawsuit “a book of fairy tales” that’s politically motivated in time for the upcoming City Council election.
The Virginian-Pilot
 

editorials & columns

"A common misconception of Virginia’s open-meetings law is that public bodies must go into closed session to discuss certain topics. That’s wrong."

A common misconception of Virginia’s open-meetings law is that public bodies must go into closed session to discuss certain topics. That’s wrong. The Freedom of Information Act doesn’t even say they should. It simply says they may do so in certain circumstances. The Smithfield Town Council and Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors, which are doing their best to undermine the citizenry’s confidence in their handling of a controversial real estate development on the western edge of town, need a refresher course on the importance of transparent government. If the Town Council gets an “F” on transparency after their recent secret discussion preceding a vote to spend $1.4 million in taxpayer dollars, the supervisors get a D-minus.They at least had some discussion preceding their vote on the identical topic but, disturbingly, failed to list the matter on their published Oct. 20 agenda so that interested citizens could attend and speak on the matter during the meeting’s public comment period.
The Smithfield Times