Washington, D.C. – The ACLU of Virginia, the national ACLU, and a number of other national organizations concerned about access to public records are filing today a “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of non-Virginians challenging a Virginia law that restricts access to open records to state residents.
ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Claire G. Gastañaga said today: “Open records shouldn’t be restricted by state boundaries.  People across the country, for a wide range of professional and personal reasons, have a stake in obtaining public documents from Virginia. They should not have to go through the extra burden of finding a state resident to assist them in obtaining those documents.”
The “friend of the court” brief will be filed on behalf of the ACLU, the American Library Association, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and a half dozen other groups. It argues that open records laws, like Virginia’s, that discriminate against non-residents hamper the public’s right to participate in political advocacy.  The brief notes: “State and local records bear on a variety of issues of national importance, including oversight of political leaders, campaign finance, crime, health trends, and education.  Many of the [organizations signing the brief] have used state freedom of information laws to access information bearing on these important issues.”
Further emphasizing the impact of the law, the brief argues: “Access to state public records is crucial to non-residents in a wide range of occupations, including academics and researchers such as historians, sociologists, and epidemiologists,” as well as journalists, genealogists and land developers.
Mark McBurney of Rhode Island and Roger Hurlbert of California are challenging the constitutionality of the Virginia law that allows only state residents to invoke Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act.  Both McBurney and Hurlbert had their requests for records denied solely because they are not Virginia residents.  After the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law’s constitutionality, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review that ruling in October 2012.
A copy of the amicus brief filed today can be found online at: https://acluva.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/20130102SCOTUSAmicusVFOIA.pdf

ACLU of Virginia Contact: Claire G. Gastañaga, Executive Director, 804-644-8022