THE STATE NEWS V. MSU

The Michigan Court of Appeals handed down its decision to have Judge Joyce Draganchuk review the case once more using specific protocol established in the decision.

Source: The State News

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Appeals court sends back State News case

A decision to deny The State News access to MSU police reports must be reviewed, a panel of Michigan Court of Appeals judges decided Tuesday.

The announcement comes about a month after The State News and MSU brought their cases to the appeals court, and slightly more than a year after the paper initially requested information regarding a Feb. 23, 2006, Hubbard Hall incident.

In the incident, three men allegedly brandished a gun at three victims, and one suspect poured gasoline on a victim and threatened to light it.

The names of the assailants were previously released by The State News.

Through two Freedom of Information Act requests and a trial, MSU maintained that the police report detailing the incident was classified, that to release the information would violate privacy rights and that the information would not help the public understand the workings of the government.

But in the 15-page decision, the justices wrote the trial court was wrong in deciding the police incident report in its entirety could not be received by the paper and ordered Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk, who made the initial decision, to review the case applying outlined protocol used in handling FOIA cases.

MSU spokesman Terry Denbow said the university will maintain its stance on releasing the documents.

"The principles we have stated from the beginning still hold," Denbow said.

Those principles include the argument that all people involved in the Hubbard Hall incident's privacy will be invaded, despite the fact that suspects' names have already been released by the press.

MSU also argues the information in the release is not vital for public information.

If Draganchuk's initial ruling were left to stand, a precedent restricting access to police reports would be set for all media outlets.

"I'm pleased the court saw the flaws in the university's privacy argument," said State News Editor in Chief Margaret Harding.

"I hope the trial court follows suit and we finally receive this report, which, I think, would have been accessible to the public in almost any other police agency in the state."

Published on Monday, March 12, 2007