In a dispute over disclosure of details of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault, the University of Kentucky is suing their independent newspaper. The newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, had filed a request for all records regarding allegations of a sexual assault by a former professor, and the university denied the request partly on the grounds that the victim could be identified even if the victim’s name were redacted. After the Kernel appealed, the state attorney general ruled in their favor prompting the university’s lawsuit. (Courthouse News Service, September 5, 2016, by Kevin Lessmiller)
The university claimed in their lawsuit that the records were preliminary and would be altered substantially in the final report. They also cited the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act that excludes education records from disclosure. (Student Press Law Center, September 2, 2016, by Mary Tyler March)