The Virginia FOIA Opinion Archive

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The Virginia Coalition for Open Government's Opinion Archive contains a comprehensive collection of opinions interpreting Virginia's Freedom of Information Act by the Supreme Court of Virginia, Virginia Circuit Courts, the Virginia Office of the Attorney General and the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.

You can look up opinions by topic or search by keyword / text (you can also search the entire site via the search box at the top right of the page).

Users of the archive should be aware that opinions of the Virginia Supreme Court (and the Virginia Court of Appeals, if any) are the only rulings that apply throughout the Commonwealth. Circuit Court rulings are binding only within the originating circuits, though well-reasoned opinions should be persuasive in other circuits. Rulings by the attorney general and the FOI Advisory Council are non-binding but can be persuasive. Resesearchers should also refer to a current and annotated Code of Virginia and all applicable case law before drawing legal conclusions.

This project was funded in part by the National Freedom of Information Coalition through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.