A note from Chuck Clark:
Seven and a half years ago, WKU sued its student newspaper, the College Heights Herald, to block release of records of sexual misconduct investigations involving faculty and staff. Finally, all these years later, we have a ruling that upholds the Kentucky Open Records Act.
You can read the Herald story, with a link to the ruling, here.
I’m proud of our attorney, Mike Abate, who stood by our students on the Herald; the Kentucky Press Association, which covered $24,000 of the Herald’s legal bills; our alumni, who donated more than $7,000 through the Student Press Law Center to help cover the expenses; the Society of Professional Journalists Legal Defense Fund, which chipped in $5,000.
Most of all, I am proud of our students — those who initially requested the records and turned in a prize-winning investigation despite the hurdles WKU put up, those who persisted and kept up with a lawsuit that languished for years, and today’s students, who embraced the importance of this ruling and stepped up to the plate on a Friday night to cover the story.
This was a case that never should have been mired in trial court for 7 1/2 years.
The students on the College Heights Herald explicitly did not want the names and identifying information of any students involved because they knew that information was protected. But they knew with some certainty, on the advice of their attorney, that all the rest of the information was public record.
Unfortunately, this case initially had a judge who appeared to have had no interest in moving it along, and ultimately retired before he ever did anything other than conduct a couple of hearings. This case languished so long under now-retired Judge Steve Wilson that we have been through two entire generations of college students since it was filed. And in a public access case, which is supposed to be handled “expeditiously,“ this delay was in some ways justice denied.
But once the case landed in Judge Chris Cohron’s hands, he conducted a hearing last October where it was pretty clear he felt WKU was in the wrong. It took quite a while for him to issue this order, but since WKU says it will not appeal, this case is now one for the books.