Transparency News, 3/1/21

Virginia lawmakers gave final passage to a major open records bill that would open some access to criminal investigative files to the public. The bill from Del. Chris Hurst, D-Montgomery, would end state law enforcement agencies’ practice of excluding nearly all of their files from the public inspection. Open record and criminal justice advocates said law enforcement agencies hiding records hinders families from getting access to records, limits the efforts of groups that try to overturn wrongful convictions, and prevents the public from holding police accountable. The bill goes to Gov. Ralph Northam for his signature, veto or suggested changes.
The Roanoke Times

State Sen. John Edwards, the Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Friday that he lacks the power under state law to convene a select committee that would investigate controversy surrounding a state watchdog agency’s probe of the Virginia Parole Board. Republicans said he is mistaken.  Meanwhile, a Republican senator called out the Office of the State Inspector General for seemingly focusing on finding a whistleblower rather than addressing allegations in new records revealed this week. “So far as I have heard, the only meaningful comment that has been offered by the inspector general is an indication that they are now hunting for a whistleblower,” Obenshain told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “This is the agency that is charged with protecting whistleblowers, not hunting for a whistleblower themselves.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The controversy surrounding the Virginia Parole Board has centered largely around the case of Vincent Martin, a man freed last year at 64 after serving more than 40 years in prison for murdering a Richmond police officer in 1979. But the IG’s office investigated at least six other cases without ever revealing details of its findings to the public, the General Assembly, or the local prosecutors who complained that the Parole Board failed to carry out its duty to seek outside input on parole decisions. Last October, the inspector general released copies of the reports that were almost entirely redacted, summarizing its findings in a general report that didn’t include specifics on what the Parole Board had done wrong.
Virginia Mercury

Town Council member Phil Cantrell Jr.’s resignation on Tuesday gave Pound Mayor Stacey Carson a vote on marking police cars and becoming the town’s Freedom of Information Act officer. Town Attorney and town police officer Tim McAfee’s status as town attorney could also be decided in March after council tabled a decision on accepting another law firm’s bid to provide legal services. Council member Stanley moved to appoint town staffer Carissa Mullins as interim clerk/treasurer with the stipulation that McAfee become the town’s Virginia Freedom of Information Act officer. That would have put McAfee in charge of releasing information at the request of the public and media. Carson said she had been told by staff of the Virginia Municipal League that a town attorney cannot be an FOIA officer. Cauthorne said he could vote for Mullins’ appointment if it did not include McAfee’s appointment to the unpaid post. After a 4-0 council vote to make Mullins interim clerk/ treasurer, McAfee then asked what statutory authority would bar him from serving as FOIA officer, adding that he had pulled up the relevant state statute on his computer and saw no exclusion. “I’ll do it for free,” McAfee said. Carson said she had also undergone state-mandated training for FOIA officers, adding that it was not a conflict of interest for her to vote because she was receiving no financial benefit if appointed. Carson was appointed on a 3-2 vote, with Cantrell and Stanley opposing.
Times News

Pittsylvania County has unveiled a new space for election offices and a renovated auditorium for meetings, all courtesy of federal coronavirus funding. Before renovations at the Educational and Cultural Center auditorium, Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors hosted meetings in courtrooms of the County Administration Building. The new space, completed in January, provides an area for dozens of members of the public to be seated safely spaced apart. New state-of-the-art hardware allows for meetings to be broadcast live on social medial platforms like Facebook, a county news release stated. The old space proved to be awkward at best to livestream meetings.
Register & Bee

Last week, Richmond television station WTVR was the first to report that the six-page document made public last summer was slimmed down from a more damning 13-page draft from Westfall’s office. The full document contends that Bennett and Chapman tried to falsify or destroy documents. The reaction within Northam’s administration has ranged from pleading ignorance (as late as Friday, the governor’s office claimed that it had not yet seen its own 13-page document that the media have had for days) to outrage — not at the Parole Board’s alleged abuses but that they were made public.  What this is about is doing as the law prescribes and meaningfully involving victims’ families, law-enforcement and prosecutors, not capriciously and in the shadows. Removing some of the board’s expansive public disclosure exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act would be a good start. Northam has been able to defuse troublesome issues in the past by using his homespun charm and at least appearing to come clean publicly. This is different. He has had the chance at several junctures to address the disturbing Parole Board revelations and take decisive and corrective actions as Allen and Warner did. He did not. Now Northam owns this debacle.
Bob Lewis, Virginia Mercury

HB2004 is also important because it would improve public oversight of police-involved shooting investigations, which are conducted by local law enforcement agencies, state police or both. For communities to have confidence that police are thoroughly investigating excessive use of force, police investigative records must be publicly accessible. HB2004 is based on a proposal put forward by the Virginia Freedom of Information Council in December. Modeled on the federal public records law, it would presume public access to closed and inactive case records unless there are privacy or safety concerns, or disclosure risks to investigative or legal proceedings. This legislation is a key step towards the larger goal of transparency, accountability and accuracy in our justice system. The state has an opportunity to shed light on investigations and enhance public safety by passing HB2004.
Jennifer L. Givens, Deirdre M. Enright and Shawn Armbrust, The Virginian-Pilot