Judge: UVA Researcher's Emails Exempt from Disclosure - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) - A judge has rejected a conservative group's attempt to obtain a former University of Virginia climate researcher's emails.

Retired Arlington Circuit Court Judge Paul Sheridan ruled Monday that Michael Mann's emails are exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

The records were sought by the American Tradition Institute, which rejects the assertion by Mann and other climate scientists that decades of heat-trapping carbon gas emissions into the atmosphere are responsible for global warming. The case was filed in Prince William County Circuit Court.

U.Va. spokeswoman Carol Wood said Tuesday the university was pleased that its position protecting scholarly and scientific records was affirmed. Mann, who now works at Penn State, said he was gratified by U.Va.'s efforts.

ATI said on its website that it was "troubled" by the ruling.

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