Nonprofit sues Criminal Justice Services over withholding records from officials • Virginia Mercury

One of the less noted features of the Virginia Way is the long-standing tendency of commonwealth leaders to make their decisions behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act Does one assume that all government business is public by default and require officials to justify why exceptions should be made? In practice, too many Virginia leaders take the opposite view, acting as if records are confidential by default and the public must demonstrate that they should be handled differently.

In this post, we want to highlight how public officials across Virginia often resist public access to records on issues big and small – and highlight cases in which releasing information under FOIA gave the public insight into the workings of government agencies.

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services is accused of failing to release the certification and disciplinary records of law enforcement officers WHRO’s review the lawsuit filed in Richmond in September.

Invisible Institute, a nonprofit newsroom, sued the agency for withholding the names of nearly 100,000 active and inactive law enforcement officers. WHO said the agency claimed the latter were exempt from disclosure because “officials could be assigned covert tasks.”

To improve misconduct complaints, advocates, including in Virginia, have called on law enforcement agencies to improve the transparency of an officer’s records. Access to the records helps the public understand who is policing their communities, and the records prevent officers with a history of abuse from being hired by other agencies.

The Virginia Center For Investigative Journalism at WHRO, which worked with the Invisible Institute, reported that reform efforts to improve supervision have stalled.

In 2022, the agency released the names of the fired officers after receiving a similar FOIA request. However, when a MuckRock reporter and the Invisible Institute made their requests in 2023 and 2024, respectively, DCJS said the records were exempt from disclosure because they related to personnel information.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs at the University of Virginia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic said in a statement that “releasing the requested information would allow the public to monitor whether public officials are adequately regulated — including whether They are prevented from evading the consequences for wrongdoing.” change jobs.”

A former high school swimming coach recounted this Fredericksburg advance He plans to reapply for a collection of school records after a Spotsylvania General District Court judge denied his request Tuesday.

Judge Jane M. Reynolds initially dismissed the case because Theodore Marcus’ petition was not properly served, but continued the proceedings to give the plaintiff an opportunity to address the matter after he submitted the petition by e-mail. Mail and not by law enforcement or a third party civil process server.

Earlier this month, Marcus began petitioning for the release of Riverbend High School swim team records after he alleged that school officials were monitoring the production of emails and text messages between certain school leaders – Spotsylvania school board members Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie, would have held back. former Superintendent Mark Taylor and former Riverbend Principal Xavier Downs – ahead of a meeting with parents, school officials and coaches on December 20, 2023.

In December, Marcus and former head coach Rachel Adriani resigned from the program after a number of “incidents,” according to the Fredericksburg Advance.

He argues that withholding the records violates Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act.

Virginia Code requires the petition to be heard within seven days.

Clarke County leaders have changed the way social services are overseen by disbanding the Citizens Council and handing oversight to the county administrator.

State law allows local social services departments to be governed by boards and advisory groups. Clarke estimates there are about 63 boards of directors and 51 advisory boards in Virginia.

According to a Tuesday report from The Winchester StarOn Jan. 1, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors transferred oversight of the Department of Social Services to County Administrator Chris Boies.

Boies told The Mercury that members supported dissolving the board. There are two vacancies on the group’s seven-member board.

According to a report dated October 15th Personnel reportThe learning curve for citizen board members is “immense,” which could lead to recruitment concerns. The report states that each member must attend training annually and that the board must submit several documents and plans to supervisors for review before submitting them to the state, including the director’s evaluation, compensation plan, monthly expense report and approvals to take on the need.

“There have been several instances in the last two years when the board was unable to meet because a quorum could not be assembled,” the report said.

Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: [email protected]