ACLU of Virginia filed amicus, urged UVA to fight AG's demands

Charlottesville, VA— An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge today ruled that the University of Virginia  is not required to respond to a demand  from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for the records of a global warming expert once employed by the school.
“This is an important step in protecting academic freedom and privacy in Virginia,” said ACLU of Virginia executive director Kent Willis.  “The court made it clear that the Attorney General does not have the authority to demand to see private records on whim.”
Cuccinelli, whose opposition to global warming theories is well documented, used the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act to demand records from UVA related to the communications and research of former professor Michael Mann, a widely published proponent of global warming theory who received state and federal grants for his work.  Among the broad range of records sought were emails that Mann sent to and received from colleagues since 1999.
After learning of Cuccinelli‘s demand for information on Mann and after reading media reports indicating that UVA was inclined to comply, the American Association of University Professors and the ACLU of Virginia urged university officials to exercise their right to oppose the demand.  (See ACLU/AAUP letter at http://www.acluva.org/publications/20100506ACLUAAUPUVALtr.pdf.)
Later, after UVA decided to oppose the demand in court, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression joined the ACLU and AAUP on an amicus brief siding with the university.
Today’s ruling addresses several issues.  Most importantly, it concludes that Cuccinelli failed to articulate both his reason to believe that Mann had committed fraud and the nature of the conduct that was being investigated, as state law requires.  In addition, the court held that four of the five grants on which the AG sought information were not within the scope of the Virginia law because they were from federal sources.  Although the ruling allows the AG to re-file demands for information on a 2001 state grant, he must state his reason to believe that fraud occurred and the nature of the fraudulent conduct before UVA will be required to release the information.
A copy of today’s ruling can be found at  http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010-08-30%20Opinion%20Granting%20UVA%20Petition.pdf.

Contacts: Rebecca Glenberg, Legal Director Kent Willis, Executive Director 804-644-8022