UK vs Kentucky Kernel lawsuit moves forward, A.G. intervenes

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – The court case between the University of Kentucky and the school newspaper is moving forward.

U.K. is suing the student paper, the Kentucky Kernel, after the paper filed an open records request for documents related to a sexual assault investigation involving a former professor, who has since left the school.

The university refused the open records request so the paper appealed to the state Attorney General, who has sided with the paper.

The Attorney General’s office, which acts as a third party to determine if the records should be released or not, hasn’t been allowed to view the documents either.

Tuesday, an attorney for the paper and the university plus the assistant Attorney General went before a judge. They agreed to let the Attorney General’s Office intervene in the lawsuit. They also set a schedule to turn in legal briefs to move forward with the case.

This comes on the heels of more than a dozen journalist and media faculty members at U.K sending a letter to school president Eli Capilouto asking him to apologize and drop the suit against the newspaper.

A school spokesperson says while the faculty’s concerns are appreciated, the suit is about the privacy of victims and that needs to be determined in a court of law.