Recently, a bunch of folks like me from other states discussed a question posed by one of our own to a group listserv: “Any idea how many exemptions your state has enacted and in what categories? Is this making open records laws more meaningless than we realize?” … I hear from a lot of people — reporters in particular, for some reason — who lament the number of exemptions and point to that number as evidence that Virginia is worse than anywhere else. But as noted by the disparity in numbers above, I think the focus on numbers misses the point. Don’t get me wrong: there are TOO MANY exemptions and prohibitions. Ever since VCOG’s founding 30 years ago, we have fought against the addition of dozens and dozens of proposed exemptions or prohibitions. Nonetheless, consider….

Purcellville Vice Mayor Carl “Ben” Nett and Town Manager Kwasi Fraser have been suspended from their positions, effectively immediately, after a judge on Thursday ruled legislation sponsored by Sen. Russet Perry (D-31) does not violate the Virginia Constitution. The bill, passed with companion legislation introduced by Del. John McAuliff (D-30), required officials in towns within Northern Virginia and with a population between 8,000 and 10,000, who have been charged with felonies to be suspended until the resolution of those cases against them. Nett and Fraser were arrested last July on charges of bid-rigging and conspiracy.

Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Douglas Fleming’s decision to sentence above guidelines is common for Loudoun judges, who are part of Virginia’s 20th Judicial Circuit, which includes Fauquier and Rappahannock counties. State statistics show they are increasingly disregarding the guidelines, which were approved by the General Assembly to establish sentencing uniformity around Virginia. From fiscal years 2019 to 2023, Loudoun judges sentenced above guidelines 12% of the time in the 976 cases they adjudicated, compared to the statewide average of nearly 8% (98,556 cases), according to Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission statistics. They sentenced below guidelines 8.4% of the time compared to the 13.1% statewide average. … The judges didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment from the Loudoun Times-Mirror through Alejandra Rueda, judicial chief of staff. But in a written statement to the Times-Mirror, director of the Sentencing Commission Joseph “Jody” T. Fridley said it was not “necessarily valid” to draw conclusions about “judicial harshness or leniency” from the sentencing disparities.