CHARLESTON – The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit that would compel the West Virginia Parole Board turn over records of an inmate hearing denying an request for parole originally requested in December 2014 pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.
On Aug. 19, the ACLU filed a lawsuit in Kanawha Circuit Court seeking a declaratory judgment ordering the parole board and Chairperson Benita F. Murphy to respond to a request for records of an inmate who maintained he was denied a parole because he has HIV. The records request was made in January and despite several follow-up requests, the board still has not responded, the complaint states. The plaintiff maintains this non-responsiveness is unlawful.
The plaintiff is seeking a rule to show cause requiring the defendant to turn over the records, plus attorney fees and litigation costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Patrick C. McGinley and Suzanne Weise of Morgantown and Jamie Lynn Crofts of Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Louis H. Bloom.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 15-C-1586