WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday struck down a Pawtucket lawyer's challenge to Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.
Mark McBurney had argued the law was unconstitutional because it allowed only Virginia residents to invoke it in seeking public records. He had sought records detailing Virginia's handling of his child-support claim with his ex-wife while he worked in Australia as a diplomat.
The high court rejected McBurney's challenge, finding that "the right to access public information is not a 'fundamental' privilege or immunity of citizenship." The court, said the opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, has repeatedly stated that the Constitution does not guarantee the existence of FOIA laws.
The decision upholds the power of a state to limit access to public records to state residents only.