Daily Press, LLC v. Office of the Exec. Sec'y of the Supreme Court of Va.
800 S.E.2d 822
| Va. | 2017Background
- David Ress of The Daily Press requested a searchable copy of a court-case database hosted on servers at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia (Executive Secretary) under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA).
- The Executive Secretary operates and maintains two relevant systems: CCMS (case management, editable) and OCIS (read-only public-facing copy replicated from CCMS every 15 minutes); both reside on servers owned and maintained by the Executive Secretary in Richmond.
- Clerks of the circuit courts input and control the case data; clerks decide whether to use CCMS/OCIS and (for OCIS) authorize the Executive Secretary to display specific case data and date ranges; clerks retain responsibility for deleting records.
- The Executive Secretary sought permission from 118 clerks to release their data; 50 consented and 68 objected. The Daily Press filed for a writ of mandamus to compel disclosure by the Executive Secretary; the clerks who objected were joined as necessary parties.
- The trial court denied mandamus, holding that each clerk is the statutory custodian of that clerk’s court records in OCIS/CCMS, so the VFOIA request must be directed to individual clerks rather than the Executive Secretary.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is the VFOIA custodian of court records stored on Executive Secretary servers? | The Executive Secretary is the custodian because it possesses the databases on its servers. | Code § 17.1-242 designates circuit court clerks as custodians of all court records, including electronic records stored off-premises. | Clerks of court are the statutorily designated custodians; request must be made to clerks. |
| Does replication/creation of OCIS by Executive Secretary make it a new record custodian-created? | OCIS is a new database created by the Executive Secretary and thus the Executive Secretary must disclose it. | OCIS is a replicated, read-only copy of clerk-created records; replication is not creation of a new public record under VFOIA. | OCIS is not a new record for FOIA purposes; clerks retain custody. |
| Is transferred electronic data (from clerks to Executive Secretary servers) a transfer making Executive Secretary custodian under Code § 2.2-3704(J)? | No transfer occurred; data remains with clerks. | Clerks transfer electronic records to Executive Secretary servers for storage/maintenance, but statute preserves clerk custody after transfer. | The electronic transmission/storage is a transfer for storage purposes but does not change custodianship; clerks remain custodians. |
| Should VFOIA be liberally construed to require disclosure by Executive Secretary despite statutes? | Liberal construction of VFOIA favors disclosure and ordinary meaning of "custodian" should control. | VFOIA must be read "except as otherwise specifically provided by law"; legislature expressly assigned custody to clerks. | VFOIA’s liberal-construction policy does not override the explicit statutory designation of clerks as custodians. |
Key Cases Cited
- Barr v. Town & Country Props., 240 Va. 292 (court must give effect to plain statutory language)
- Fitzgerald v. Loudoun Cnty. Sheriff's Office, 289 Va. 499 (de novo review of statutory interpretation)
- United States Dep’t of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136 (federal FOIA precedent considered but inapposite)
- Watkins v. Hall, 161 Va. 924 (statutory construction principle cited)