FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's Supreme Court sided with a student newspaper Thursday in a long-running open records dispute with the state's flagship university over the release of documents pertaining to a sexual misconduct investigation involving a former campus professor.
The University of Kentucky's handling of the request for records from the Kentucky Kernel — the campus newspaper — was “patently unacceptable” under the state's open records law, Deputy Chief Justice Lisabeth T. Hughes said in writing for the unanimous court.
“Kentucky citizens have a strong interest in ensuring that public institutions, including the university, respond appropriately to accusations of sexual harassment,” Hughes wrote.
Thomas Miller, the student newspaper’s lawyer, said he was thrilled that the student journalists who investigated the matter "for all the right reasons have finally been able to defeat the university’s five-year-long efforts to keep the investigative file secret.”
The case now returns to a lower court judge who will decide, consistent with the high court's instructions, which documents in the 470-page investigative report will be released.
While it “respectfully” disagrees with the court’s decision, the university is confident it can make its case about “what records must remain private to protect the privacy rights of our students,” said UK spokesman Jay Blanton.
The case stems from the investigation of a professor accused of sexual misconduct by two students. The professor, who taught in UK's College of Agriculture, denied the accusations but resigned as part of a settlement agreement with the university. The Kernel filed requests under the state's Open Records Act seeking any documents about sexual harassment or sexual assault...
