Lawsuit filed to compel VCU to turn over public records related to school’s animal research
CURRENT STATUS: (Closed) Lawsuit withdrawn
Animal Partisan has filed a lawsuit under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act seeking to compel Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and its student newspaper, The Commonwealth Times, to turn over public records related the refusal to publish advertising critical of the school’s animal research program. Now, a Circuit Court judge will determine whether the school and student newspaper must hand over the records.
In late 2021, Exposing Animal Research in Richmond (EARR), a grassroots organization focused on bringing light to animal research in central Virginia, entered into a contract to run advertising the The Commonwealth Times, VCU’s student newspaper. EARR was the precursor organization to Animal Partisan and its work challenging animal research in Virginia is now a part of our mission. You can learn more about VCU’s animal research activities, including viewing public records requests and news stories, on the original EARR website, found here.
The proposed advertising was critical of VCU’s ongoing experimentation on primates. The Commonwealth Times refused to run the advertisement, labeling it “graphic” and “too explicit” for the newspaper’s audience.
EARR submitted a modified second version of the advertising. Once more, The Commonwealth Times declined to run it but this time refused to provide any reasoning behind the decision.
In response to these denials, EARR submitted a public records request to VCU asking for records related to the decision to deny the advertising. VCU provided records of its own, but declined to provide records maintained by The Commonwealth Times, stating that the university was not custodian of the student newspaper’s records. EARR subsequently submitted a formal request for records to The Commonwealth Times which was ignored. A follow-up request by EARR was also ignored. The Virginia Freedom of Information Act mandates that “public bodies” comply with certain requirements in order to promote transparency into the workings of the government. These requirements include mandatory response timeframes, protocol for explaining when records and denied, and most importantly, obligations to reduce certain public records upon request.
Our lawsuit alleges that VCU and The Commonwealth Times both violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond, failing to provide the requested records, or at least providing an explanation for why the records withheld as the law requires. The lawsuit was filed in the City of Richmond Circuit Court. We expect the case will be heard in the coming weeks.
The school’s desire to keep the public from learning the truth about its animal research program sadly comes as no surprise. In recent years, the school was exposed for lying when it claimed it placed animals in sanctuary after their time in the laboratory and previously refused to provide a local news station access to view the animals.
View a copy of the complaint HERE.
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