Prisoner's rights

Appeals court rejects Va. prisoner's attempts to request records

Amy Harder | Freedom of Information | Feature | March 27, 2008
Feature
March 27, 2008

A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a Virginia prisoner’s efforts to obtain prison documents through the state’s open records law.

A unanimous three-judge panel on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. (4th Cir.) upheld a lower court’s decision, ruling that Joseph Giarratano failed to prove a state statute that prohibits inmates from filing state Freedom of Information Act requests was created with no legitimate purpose.