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Court: University Fails To Follow Open-Records Law

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An appeals court said the University of Kentucky failed to follow open-records law in a dispute with the campus newspaper over its pursuit of documents in a sexual harassment investigation.

The ruling could have implications for a similar case involving Western Kentucky University.

A three-judge Court of Appeals panel ruled Friday that the state's flagship university had failed to comply with the open-records law "in any meaningful way."

The long-running case stems from the student newspaper's pursuit of documents in a sexual harassment investigation involving a former professor.

The university had refused to release the documents.

The state attorney general's office said the university had violated the open-records law. UK appealed to a circuit judge who sided with the university.

Judge Kelly Thompson, writing for the appeals court panel, said the public has an interest in the "investigative methods used by its public agencies."

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