A Richmond man would like to see records in the case of Mark Weiner, the county man whose abduction conviction was vacated earlier this year. But when he filed a FOIA request, he was told he would have to pay $3,200 before work could begin, which he finds unreasonable, so he’s filed suit.

Below is a news release from his attorney, Michael Hardin:

On Wednesday October 21, 2015, Tyler Pieron, a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Albemarle Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, seeking records related to recent actions of the Commonwealth Attorney’s office, including its convoluted and belated decision to vacate Mark Weiner’s wrongful conviction.

Rather than work to provide records as the law requires, Denise Lunsford, the Commonwealth Attorney, demanded fees of almost $3200 before her office would even begin looking for records. Ms. Lunsford also insisted that her office would take over five weeks to release any documents, even though the law calls for a response within five working days. Ms. Lunsford has also insisted on redacting the responsive documents herself as opposed to a “disinterested third-party” gathering and reviewing the documents for release.

Faced with this intransigence, Matthew Hardin, Esq, on behalf of Mr. Pieron, has filed suit today against Denise Lunsford and the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. The lawsuit, filed in the City of Richmond, alleges that the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office demanded unreasonable fees for processing the FOIA request. “These high fees act as a barrier to transparency” Mr. Hardin said. “They work to prevent ordinary citizens from finding out what their government is up to. The same citizens who paid for these records to be created once, are now being extorted into paying again just to find out how government employees are using taxpayer dollars.”

“I hope that a swift intervention by the Court will show government agencies that they cannot wield high fees to prevent citizens from using the Freedom of Information Act the way the Virginia Legislature intended; to keep a watchful eye on their government” said Mr. Hardin. The case is titled Pieron v. Commonwealth of Virginia and Denise Lunsford.