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0 3 . 2 5 . 2 5
All Access
6 items
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Courts
Richmond Sheriff Antionette Irving has reached a wrongful death settlement with the family of a man who died of an overdose in the city’s jail during 2023. It’s one of at least three federal cases Irving is facing over in-custody overdose deaths that occurred in 2022 and 2023. Details of the settlement were not disclosed in court filings, and Irving and her attorneys did not respond to a VPM News email requesting comment. The attorneys for Carey’s family also did not answer an email seeking details of the agreement.
NOTE: As reinforced in a Roanoke case earlier this month, two Virginia Supreme Court cases stand for the principle that settlement amounts in wrongful death cases against the government must be disclosed.
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Courts
Two co-defendants who paid bribes to former Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins for law enforcement credentials were also sentenced on Friday. Fredric Gumbinner, an attorney, received three years of probation and a $100,000 fine. James Metcalf, a businessman, got three years of probation and a $75,000 fine. Both men were also ordered to not live in a home with any firearms or other weapons. Gumbinner and Metcalf previously pleaded guilty to paying a bribe to get a badge. The co-defendants cooperated with the government in testifying at trial and providing information in the case against Jenkins. A third co-defendant, Rick Rahim, had sentencing delayed until May 13 due to medical issues. Rahim provided information about Jenkins’ scheme to the feds in a separate tax fraud case. Rahim was recently sentenced in that case to 78 months in prison.
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Virginia and Tennessee
With Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia intertwined in the Tri-Cities area, residents on both sides of the state line share concerns about their local and state governments’ transparency. Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, and her counterpart Megan Rhyne of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government agree on several issues about public records law and citizens’ right to know. “It’s not just for reporters,” said Fisher. “It never was. It’s for all citizens.”
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In other states
Nearly one of every seven requests to see public records in six Northeast Tennessee counties was either ignored or met with resistance by local government officials or their employees, a Six Rivers Media survey found. In a test of Tennessee’s open records law, Six Rivers Media reporters and editors requested public records from Sullivan, Hawkins, Washington, Carter, Unicoi and Johnson counties. Under state law, the right to inspect public records is free. Reporters visited 19 municipalities, 19 police agencies and 11 school districts, filing a total of 49 records requests.
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My take
FERPA protects student educational records, but an educational record is not anything or everything a student does in school.
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Federal
Government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington can continue to allege that the US Department of Justice is improperly withholding documents related to the investigation of former Rep. Matt Gaetz. CREW sufficiently alleged that the DOJ is violating the Freedom of Information Act by implementing a policy of refusing to confirm or deny the existence of investigation-related records, Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said in a March 21 order partially denying the government’s motion to dismiss.
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TENTATIVE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
10:00 – 11:00 Animal testing transparency
11:00 – 11:20 Need to Know: Minium v. Hines
11:30 – 12:00 Buried treasures at the courthouse
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch program
awards
keynote speaker
VCOG annual meeting
1:30 – 2:00 Access and Gen Z
2:00 – 2:20 Need to Know: Courthouse News Service v. Smith
2:20 – 2:50 AI, Open Data and Civic Innovation
3:00 – 3:20 Need to Know: NPR v. Department of Corrections
3:20 – 4:20 The Transparency Gap in Local Solar and Data Projects
Thanks to our conference sponsors and donors.
Lee Albright
Tom Blackstock
Boone Newsmedia
Christian & Barton, LLP
Roger Christman
The Daily Progress
The Harrisonburg Citizen
Joshua Heslinga
Megan Rhyne
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sage Information Services
Jeff South
SPJVA-Pro Chapter
Thomas H. Roberts & Associates, PC
Virginia Association of Broadcasters
Virginia Poverty Law Center
WHRO, Norfolk
Willcox & Savage
WTVR, Richmond
“Democracies die behind closed doors.” ~ U.S. District Judge Damon Keith, 2002
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