Tag: Spring 2002

Cornell loses appeal in open-records case

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NEW YORK

-- A state supreme court judge in January denied an appeal by Cornell University in a freedom of information case started when a radio show host sought access to information about the university's planned agriculture and technology park in the nearby city of Geneva.

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In 2000, Jeremy Alderson, then-host of National Public Radio program "The Nobody Show," said the project would have an adverse effect on area wildlife and crops, and sued Cornell when it refused to release documents about the site.

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The park is to be used for biotech research of genetically engineered crops.

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The state court decision followed an earlier ruling that since Cornell's agricultural school is affiliated with the State University of New York system, the university is obligated to release its records under the state open-records law.

N.J. campus withholds crime log

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NEW JERSEY

-- Statewide, journalists are likely to rejoice in July when an antiquated and restrictive open-records law will be replaced, but after their access to campus crime logs was recently denied, student journalists at William Paterson University especially are counting down the days.

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When the Pioneer Times stepped up its coverage of campus police in mid-March, its access to crime logs at the public university in Wayne was suddenly curtailed, adviser Liz Birge said.

Mich. court defines role of private campus police

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MICHIGAN

-- After a five-year legal battle, a state appeals court ruled in January that law enforcement officials at private colleges can be deputized by local sheriff's departments, giving them the authority to enforce the law both on and off campus.

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The decision, handed down in January by the Michigan Court of Appeals, appears to give student journalists increased access to records of arrests carried out by campus police at such schools, said Dawn Phillips Hertz, general counsel for the Michigan Press Association.