Christine Shu Gilleland '14 Discusses FOIA Project on Police Interrogation Policies

Through the Virginia Innocence Project Pro Bono Clinic, UVA Law students submitted more than 300 Freedom of Information Act requests to law enforcement agencies last year to collect information on interrogation policies in Virginia. Professor Brandon Garrett analyzed the research and reported earlier this month that Virginia’s agencies often lack written policies, and only a handful require that questioning be recorded.

Christine Shu Gilleland ’14, who managed the FOIA research with Chris Lisieski ’14 and Katie Clifford ’15, began the process of sending FOIA requests during her first year at Virginia, but put together a team of students during her second year when she realized the magnitude of the project. She described her efforts:

“I came to realize that the VIPS FOIA project was not just gathering information to make it easier and more efficient for us to represent its clients. Rather, it was an exercise in compiling a much-needed database that had never been gathered before. The database would benefit both law enforcement organizations and defenders alike. I was surprised to learn that the law enforcement organizations do not communicate with one another regarding their experiences in implementing these policies. Each organization has its own process and learns from its own experience. As it turns out, the organizations were missing out on a major opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences in writing and implementing these policies.

“Several months after beginning to lead the project, Professor Brandon Garrett contacted our FOIA Project to ask if we would share data with him. He was able to compile the data and analyze the policies and their implementation. His research began a state-wide discussion about policies and sharing information regarding policies. Our project was able to help begin a movement towards sharing information on policies between law enforcement organizations.

“The two most challenging aspects of the FOIA project were collecting the policies and managing the students. We collected policies for hundreds of law enforcement organizations. We sent a FOIA request to each one individually. For the first several weeks after sending out the FOIA requests, I was on the phone with the organizations for most of the hours of the work day when I was not in class. As a group we had to figure out the best way to keep track of which organizations we had contacted, which organizations had sent the policies, and with which organizations we had to follow up. In addition, we had to develop the most efficient and logical way to categorize and store the policies. From the experience, I learned how to motivate and manage people, and how to organize people and information. I also learned how exhausting it is to try to start such a database and how important it is for a dedicated organization to continue to update such a database.”