A sampling of today's media coverage of the Virginia Supreme Court's decision yesterday in the case of the Wiscasset Declaration:
- The Richmond Times-Dispatch report has further quotes from Maine archivist David Cheever: "We are very disappointed. I'm just sorry they reached the decision they did. It seems like a bit of a stretch, but we waged a good fight, they prevailed." He said he did not believe the town would seek to buy back the broadside: "To buy it back when it's something that we think belongs in the public realm anyway would be a decision that Wiscasset might make, but one I would not recommend. I would be more apt to encourage Mr. Adams to donate it back to the town."
- A Washington Post piece by Fredrick Kunkle features the first reaction from the attorney for Richard Adams, whose claim to the Declaration is now quieted: "We're very pleased with the ruling. It's what we hoped." And more from Cheever, who said that this decision "only inflames a sense in Maine that too much of its history has been raided by out-of-state collectors. 'Here's somebody from 'away' who comes in and finds something of value,' Cheever said. 'Because it's the Declaration of Independence, the hair on the back of the neck stands up. This shouldn't be leaving.'"
- And in the Portland Press-Herald report, assistant state attorney general Thomas Knowlton: "We are extremely disappointed in the decision, we strongly disagree with the court's interpretation of the law and its application of the law to these facts."
