An inmate of Virginia's supermax prison has lost his challenge of a state law that prevented him from obtaining information from prison officials through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

In a decision Tuesday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond upheld a decision by federal Judge James Jones, who ruled that the state's open records law does not apply to prisoners such as Joseph Giarratano.

An inmate of Red Onion State Prison, the state's super-maximum security prison in Wise County, Giarratano had cited FOIA in requesting a copy of the Department of Correction's policy for treating hepatitis C.

Giarratano, who suffers from hepatitis C, said he needed to see the policy to learn more about his treatment and to evaluate a possible lawsuit alleging medical malpractice by prison officials.

In denying the inmate's claims, Jones "cited a variety of rational reasons" why FOIA should not apply to inmates, the appellate court said in a 10-page opinion. Among them: that inmates would flood the system with frivolous requests, that state resources would be diverted from more legitimate needs and that inmates "have less need to access public records, due to their exclusion from society and state agencies."

With backing from the American Civil Liberties Union, Giarratano's attorney told the court in December that the law's exclusion of inmates is based on stereotypes and prejudice.

-- Laurence Hammack