State News, MSU appear in court

After more than two years in bureaucratic gridlock, The State News may soon know whether MSU can withhold a 2006 police report detailing a campus assault.

Last Tuesday, the battle over the police report, which details a 2006 assault that took place at a student’s dorm room in Hubbard Hall, went before the Michigan Supreme Court.

The justices, who questioned the lawyers on the tension between public access to information and personal privacy, will decide on whether MSU’s refusal to release the report is justified.

The lawsuit likely will affect how the government and institutions such as MSU release information to the public.

Clifford Taylor, chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, said FOIA law needs to be revised to help avoid conflict over FOIA requests.

“We’re trying to determine FOIA laws for the next 100 cases as well as this one,” Taylor said.

MSU has argued that the personal privacy exemption of the state’s freedom of information act law allows it to withhold the report.

Attorneys representing both sides argued over whether releasing the personal information contained in the report was personal and releasing it to the public would be an invasion of privacy.

Theresa Kelly, MSU’s attorney, said the information contained in the reports is personal and should be kept private.

“The very fact of being involved in an alleged crime is personal,” Kelly said. “Personal means potentially embarrassing.”

While the names of the students involved in the crime were disclosed in court, that doesn’t mean the information is public, Kelly said.

Since the names of the individuals involved in the case were released during the trial, the report should be released to The State News, said Herschel Fink, The State News’ attorney.

If the court sides with MSU, the court would be setting a new precedent regarding the use of the FOIA, Fink said.

“If MSU’s position were to be followed the public would be deprived information about crime,” Fink said. “It’s a ridiculous, extreme position that I just can’t understand.”

Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate for the Student Press Law Center, said students already face significant challenges when attempting to fulfill a FOIA request.

In 2007, Goldstein gave legal advice to 185 student newspapers on FOIA issues.

Published on Sunday, March 9, 2008