Cantor v. Virginia Department of Corrections
Court: Circuit Court for the City of Richmond
Client: David Cantor
Background: In October 2025, journalist David Cantor submitted a public records request to the Virginia Department of Corrections seeking all records documenting the department’s use of tasers on inmates at the state’s super-maximum security Red Onion State Prison since the start of the year.
The VADOC denied the request. While the department acknowledged having 60 pages of records responsive to Cantor’s request, it claimed that they were exempt from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act as “records of persons imprisoned in penal institutions in the Commonwealth.”
On behalf of Cantor, attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed this lawsuit against the VADOC, alleging that the department violated the public records law by failing to turn over responsive documents. The lawsuit argues that the records are not exempt from disclosure under the law.
Quote: “Access to information about corrections officers’ use of tasers is critical to enabling public oversight of how force is deployed in Virginia’s prisons,” said Reporters Committee legal fellow Rachel Seller. “Allowing the Department of Corrections to block access to a record wholesale simply because it may mention an inmate would effectively insulate the agency from any public scrutiny, and runs counter to the transparency that the state’s public records law exists to promote.”
Related: The legal battle over the taser logs is the third time Reporters Committee attorneys have gone to court to challenge to the VADOC’s refusal to turn over records that could help the public better understand the use of force inside Virginia prisons. The two previous matters concerned access to execution tapes and records related to the VADOC’s use of attack dogs.
Filings:
2026-04-22: Petition
2026-04-22: Cantor affidavit
2026-04-22: Cantor affidavit Exhibit A
2026-04-22: Cantor affidavit Exhibit B
2026-04-22: Cantor affidavit Exhibit C