Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Virginia’s Highest Court Denies Access to Climate Scientist’s Emails
Wall Street Journal ^ | April 18, 2014 | By JACOB GERSHMAN

Posted on 04/19/2014 7:15:27 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

Virginia’s highest court has denied a conservative group’s effort to force the University of Virginia to turn over emails from a controversial climate scientist who worked at the school.

The Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday held that the public university wasn’t obligated under the state’s freedom of information law to release thousands of emails that Penn State researcher Michael Mann wrote while he was a UVA professor several years ago.

Mr. Mann in 2009 came under scrutiny among global warming skeptics after hackers leaked thousands of email exchanges between the professor and other researchers that suggested that the scientists sought to stifle dissenting views about global warming.

Upholding a lower-court ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court said releasing the emails would have put UVA “at a competitive disadvantage in relation to private universities and colleges.”

The opinion cited affidavits submitted by scholars and academic officials warning of the dangers of making public the correspondence. “If U.S. scientists at public institutions lose the ability to protect their communications with faculty at other institutions, their ability to collaborate will be gravely harmed,” wrote UVA provost John D. Simon in one of the filings.

“The Supreme Court’s decision is consistent with the public nature of science and with the public mission of the University of Virginia,” a UVA spokesman said Thursday.

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: climategate; hoax; hockeystick; lawsuit; mann; ruling; uva
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-52 last
To: Usagi_yo

Mann is a gov’t employee who has also benefited from gov’t grants. His personal emails are private. But anything work related should be subject to the FOI act.

Especially if he’s going to be suing critics of his work for libel.


41 posted on 04/19/2014 3:23:53 PM PDT by proudpapa (Scott Walker - 2016)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Usagi_yo
But black out the word “conservative group” and “environmentalist” and use something like “Atheist group” and “Professor of Theology” or “PETA” and “Nutritional Researcher” and even “CAIR” and “Nuclear Physics Researcher”, and see if you feel the same way.

Silly comparison.
None of those examples are remotely likely to adversely affect the lives of hundreds of millions for generations, directly or indirectly.

The nebulous "carbon" scam, the proven fraudulent "climate change," and "alternative energy" fraud, all have insinuated themselves improperly into National Policy, costing trillions$ over generations, on demagoguic wild guesses by megalomaniacs...

42 posted on 04/19/2014 3:41:02 PM PDT by publius911 ( At least Nixon had the good g race to resign!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: publius911

Well I can’t respond then if you don’t think that religion, food supply and power resources don’t affect the lives of “hundreds of millions for generations”.


43 posted on 04/19/2014 4:37:07 PM PDT by Usagi_yo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: AppyPappy

Where those the stolen emails from years back?


44 posted on 04/19/2014 4:38:06 PM PDT by Usagi_yo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Solson

I guess more than you would like (and I’m not tacitly agreeing that he was a government employee, getting grants from the government does not make one an employee).


45 posted on 04/19/2014 4:39:08 PM PDT by Usagi_yo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Usagi_yo

yes, but being a professor of a state institution does make one a government employee.


46 posted on 04/19/2014 5:47:50 PM PDT by Solson (The Voters stole the election! And the establishment wants it back.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: Usagi_yo

When I worked for the US Air Force, I assumed any unclassified emails were fair game to anyone who wanted to see them. I was, on several occasions, required by a FOIA request to review emails for anything involving XYZ, and turn those over to investigators.

In an HOA dispute with an HOA that has since disbanded, the lawyer told the HOA they had to hand over any emails in their possession mentioning my name. Emails do not have very many privacy rights, particularly if you work for a government agency.


47 posted on 04/19/2014 5:53:23 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (I sooooo miss America!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Infiltrate and disseminate.


48 posted on 04/19/2014 8:09:52 PM PDT by Nuc 1.1 (Nuc 1 Liberals aren't Patriots. Remember 1789!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mr Rogers

From the ruling:

“Upholding a lower-court ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court said releasing the emails would have put UVA “at a competitive disadvantage in relation to private universities and colleges.”

What is there not to understand?

By all your logic, anybody who has endowed a public university should have access to internal communications. Had Mr. Mann broke the law or conspired to break the law, yes I can see the DA or the US attorney having priviledge and access to the email.

By no means was Mr. Mann an employee of the the Government. He was a (visiting) professor as the government merely appoints the regents and provides endowments and approves the charter.

My assertion stands. Good decision. Correct decision.


49 posted on 04/19/2014 8:26:37 PM PDT by Usagi_yo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: Usagi_yo

“By all your logic, anybody who has endowed a public university should have access to internal communications.”

By my logic, anyone who works at a public university should have as much transparency to his emails as I had when working for the military. I think anyone who thinks their emails are private and undiscoverable is an idiot, because anyone can forward your email to anyone. Do you really believe my email as a private citizen is not open to discovery, if it might apply to a legal case?

My assertion stands. Bad decision.


50 posted on 04/19/2014 9:34:29 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (I sooooo miss America!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Mr Rogers

That’s cool. You offer no proof and I offer no proof.

Cheers


51 posted on 04/19/2014 10:02:16 PM PDT by Usagi_yo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Sherman Logan

You can read Steyn’s comments about the decision here:

http://www.steynonline.com/6277/chicken-supremes


52 posted on 04/19/2014 10:28:09 PM PDT by lonevoice (We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-52 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson