Although a Virginia city claimed it had special concerns about releasing legal bills to a litigation opponent, the Supreme Court of Virginia found no reason to alter the usual standards for attorney-client and work product materials. In a Dec. 6 ...

Tagged with: FOIA Freedom of Information Act Supreme Court of Virginia

Long distance phone records sought from the judiciary are not public records, as the Virginia Freedom of Information Act does not apply to the judiciary, including its executive secretary. Background On June 20, 2018, the Office of the Executive Secretary ...

Tagged with: FOIA Judge William N. Alexander II Richmond Circuit Court

The George Mason University Foundation Inc. is an independent corporate entity whose records are not subject to freedom-of-information requirements, even if the records relate to funds used to support the University, itself a public body. Nonetheless, the University’s Gift Acceptance ...

Tagged with: Corporate Education Fairfax County Circuit Court FOIA Government Judge John M. Tran Public Records Virginia Circuit Courts

An affidavit alleging open-meeting violations by a county board of supervisors was sufficient to support a FOIA petition when the affiant swore to her belief in matters presented on information. Background Appellant Marian Bragg alleges that the Rappahannock County Board ...

Tagged with: Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons Civil Rights FOIA Public Records Supreme Court of Virginia

When a county initially estimated almost $900 for records-request compliance but later revised the estimate down to $200, it could not then charge an actual cost of more than $1,300 without consulting further with the requesting party. Background Petitioner Nelson ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights FOIA Judge Paul W. Cella Powhatan County Circuit Court Public Records Virginia Circuit Courts

Americans had a little something extra to celebrate this 4th of July. Right before the holiday weekend, President Obama signed the FOIA Im­provement Act of 2016. The timing was just about perfect: The original Freedom of Information Act was signed ...

Tagged with: FOIA

In a victory for open government advocates, Gov. Terry McAuliffe has backed down from a move to gut an open government bill aimed at overturning a Virginia Supreme Court ruling. The Supreme Court ruled in September that courts owe deference ...

Tagged with: FOIA Supreme Court of Virginia

A newspaper’s dogged pursuit of a collection of Virginia court records raises questions about whether the state public information law applies to court documents and how difficult it is for officials to generate reports from a government database. The dispute ...

Tagged with: FOIA Supreme Court of Virginia

A Democratic state senator is asking a Richmond judge to order disclosure of records that could show whether the state attorney general’s office was involved in preparing materials for the gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli refused to ...

Tagged with: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli FOIA Gov. Bob McDonnell

A battle over disclosure of climate research documents could produce new law on the public’s right to access government records in Virginia. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear three freedom-of-information issues arising from efforts by conservatives to examine the ...

Tagged with: Environmental FOIA Supreme Court of Virginia News