On November 5, a state court judge in Ohio County, West Virginia, ruled that the Fraternal Order of Police may see the names and addresses of people who signed a local initiative circulated in Wheeling, West Virginia. The purpose of the initiative is to change a city ordinance that says that whenever city police go out in a police car, there must be two police in that car. Some residents of the city feel the rule is wasteful and unnecessary, and that if it were relaxed, there would be more police cruisers on the street at any given moment. See this story. The case is City of Wheeling v Jones, Ohio County, 09-c-270. The City Charter says the petitions must be made available for public inspection.

Apparently, the Fraternal Order of Police, which opposes the initiative, wanted to see the names and addresses to see if the signatures are valid. The city had already approved the petition. The Fraternal Order of Police organization does not necessarily represent the views of working members of the police department in Wheeling; the organization’s leadership is dominated by retired members of the force.

It seems plausible that none of the attorneys in this case were aware that in 1968, the West Virginia State Supreme Court ruled that petitions are private. The case was State ex rel Daily Gazette Company v Bailey, 164 SE 2d 414 (1968). The Daily Gazette newspaper had wanted to publish the names and addresses of everyone who signed the petition to place George Wallace on the ballot, but the Court ruled that that information is private.