THE VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT’S RESPONSE
Below is the response I received from the Virginia Supreme
Court. I think it speaks for itself. I would remind readers of my blog that I
now have over five volumes of court documents pertaining to the Supreme Court’s
decision to throw out the jury verdict in the Pryde/Peterson trial. It will
take me some time to go over the 1000+ pages.
It will be interesting to see who did not tell the truth
about who was in charge of the murder scene at West Ambler Johnston Hall in the
middle of the Virginia Tech campus—Attorney General Cuccinelli’s office or the
Virginia Supreme Court?
SUPREME COURT OF
VIRGINIA
Office of the
Executive Secretary
100 North Ninth
Street
Richmond, Virginia
23219-2334
September 9, 2014
Mr. David Cariens
Xxxxx Road
Kilmarnock, Va. 22482
RE: Freedom of Information Act Request
Dear Mr. Cariens:
Your request for records sent by certified mail to Justice
Cleo E. Powell was received on September 2, 2014 and forwarded to me for
response. You also sent copies of your request to Chief Justice Kinser,
Justices Lemons, Goodwyn, and Millette, and Senior Justices Russell and Lacy.
This response will serve as the response for each of the Justices and Senior
Justices who received such copies.
Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia are not subject to
the Freedom of Information Act because of the separation of powers contained in
the Constitution of Virginia. Without waiving this objection, please be advised
that neither Justice Powell nor any of Justices or Senior Justices who received
your letter or copies of your letter possess records that are responsive to
your request. Justices may consider only the case record when deciding a case
and such records filed with the Court as part of a case are maintained by the
Clerk of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The phone number for the Clerk’s Office
for the Supreme Court is (804) 786-2251.
Please note that the Freedom of Information Act does not
apply to “[t]he records required by law to be maintained by the clerks of the
courts of record, as defined in 1-212, and courts not of record, as defined in
16.1-69.5.” Va. Code 2.2-3703 (A)(5). However, case records are generally
public records and are available at the applicable clerks’ offices, unless a
record has been sealed or is otherwise deemed confidential.
Sincerely,
/s/
Kristi S. Wright
