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Judge: Madison sheriff violated FOIA law
Experts say case could set precedent on punishment for elected officials
Rob Humphreys
Managing editor
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Madison County Sheriff Erik J. Weaver must pay a $250 fine and the plaintiff’s court fees for willfully violating the state’s Freedom of Information Act, a judge ruled Tuesday in Madison County General District Court.

Experts are calling it a potentially precedent-setting case regarding how public officials are punished for failing to comply with open records requests.

Leigh Purdum, a former office employee under Weaver, brought suit when the sheriff refused to identify the people he had appointed to a newly formed citizens advisory board.

Purdum also sought other information about the board, including its meeting dates, the criteria for choosing members, topics of discussion, goals and objectives, and copies of previous minutes.

After Tuesday’s ruling from Judge Robert H. Downer Jr., specially appointed from Albemarle County, Weaver produced the names of the 13 board members.

Maria J.K. Everett, executive director of the state-run Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, believes this is the first time a judge in district court has ruled an elected official willfully violated Virginia FOIA laws.

Everett, who has served in her position since the office was created in July 2000, called the ruling "pretty significant."

Jennifer Perkins, executive director of the Warrenton-based Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said it’s "a huge step in the right direction." She said similar cases have always resulted in no monetary punishment.

"It’s a statement," Perkins said. "The thing we’ve been really frustrated with is (judges’) reluctance to find willful violations when it’s clear to everyone else. What’s great in this case is that you actually got the punishment."

Perkins said the state’s FOIA law is "a little confusing when it comes to constitutional officers" such as sheriffs. "While they’re covered by FOIA, she said, not everything they create by FOIA is."

Because of what Perkins deems a loophole in state FOIA law, "Citizens advisory committees don’t have to follow open meetings laws."

"But," she continued, "they should have to follow open records laws as far as what (information) the sheriff holds."
Weaver must pay the money personally. It will go into a state-run literary fund.

Weaver’s stance
Reached by phone Wednesday, Weaver described Purdum’s case as a personal attack veiled in a FOIA request from a "former disgruntled employee."

Purdum acknowledged that "this man hates my guts."

Weaver, who begins his second term in January, won election in November after a bitter race against Dave Allen. He said Purdum had an ulterior motive for wanting to know his appointees to the citizens advisory panel.

"People that were supporting me," Weaver said, "she was attacking them" through letters and phone calls.

Weaver said he had received extensive legal counsel on the matter ever since Purdum began filing FOIA requests in June. According to Weaver, his attorney - who he would not identify - gave him "incorrect information" and has since been removed from the case. Colt Puryear represented Weaver Tuesday in court.

Weaver said the case, which he might appeal, is "taking me away from the citizens of Madison County. It’s starting to cause the taxpayers money and time in court."

Background
Purdum, who represented herself and accrued $53 in court costs, said she couldn’t afford a lawyer and nobody locally was interested in taking the case.

She said she filed the suit because "I wanted to know who was my representative" on the sheriff’s advisory board. "After I hit dead ends with the sheriff and Lisa Kelley (the county administrator), I wrote a letter to the FOIA council in Richmond and they issued that opinion."

The opinion, a three-page document signed by Everett Oct. 11, examined specific issues surrounding whether the sheriff’s citizens advisory panel fell under open government regulations. Everett’s written opinion, which addressed several aspects of the law and previous court rulings, presented information that supported arguments from both sides.

It concluded that "while the Citziens’ Advisory Committee created by the Sheriff is not a public body and is not required to hold public meetings, it may be beneficial to do so in the interest of positive public relations and public participation."
Everett added that "to the extent to which the Sheriff has notes or minutes regarding the Committee, those are public records subject to disclosure."

Purdum used Everett’s opinion in court, and Judge Downer’s ruling essentially supported those findings.

Purdum, 50, said she worked as a sergeant with the Fairfax County Police before taking a job with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in January 2003. She quit in April 2004 after what she and Weaver summarized as a personality dispute.

Purdum said she now works part-time as a national law enforcement trainer on missing children issues.

Rob Humphreys can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 128 or rhumphreys@starexponent.com.