Judge Annuls
Rare Restraining
Order Against
Wyoming
Newspapers
CHEYENNE
(Associated
Press) - A judge
Tuesday
dissolved a rare
restraining
order that had
prohibited two
newspapers from
publishing
stories about a
college
president’s trip
to Costa Rica.
District Judge
Peter Arnold of
Cheyenne had
ordered the
Wyoming Tribune
Eagle and a
local biweekly
paper, The
Cheyenne Herald,
not to publish
information
about a Laramie
County Community
College internal
report
concerning
president Darrel
Hammon’s 2008
trip. Hammon was
a chaperone on
the trip.
Press experts
say orders
barring the
media from
publishing
material are
extremely rare
and raise
constitutional
issues. The
Society of
Professional
Journalists
condemned
Arnold’s Friday
order for
violating press
freedoms.
“We’re glad to
see the judge
dissolve the
order,” said
Bruce Moats,
lawyer for the
Wyoming Tribune
Eagle.
“Obviously it’s
important for
freedom of the
press and the
public’s right
to know that’s
served by that
freedom.”
Attempts to
reach Cheyenne
Herald publisher
Dave Featherly
for comment were
unsuccessful.
The college’s
lawyers had
argued that
publishing
stories about
the report would
violate the
Family
Educational
Rights and
Privacy Act.
They said the
act requires
schools that
receive federal
funds to keep
certain student
records
confidential and
that the school
stood to lose
funds.
Arnold wrote
Tuesday that
that prospect
was “purely
speculative and
not supported by
any evidence
properly before
the court.” He
said the law
specifies
schools can’t
receive federal
funding if they
have a “a policy
or practice” of
releasing
student records.
Tribune Eagle
Executive Editor
D. Reed Eckhardt
has said the
newspaper
received a copy
of the report
Thursday from an
anonymous
source. The
college asked
Arnold for the
order blocking
publication
after the
Tribune Eagle
asked college
officials for
comment.
Eckhardt said
Tuesday he’s
pleased Arnold
dissolved the
restraining
order but he’s
disappointed the
college went to
such extremes to
try to prevent
publication.
“Certainly we’re
disappointed
that it took
four or five
days for it to
happen,”
Eckhardt said.
“But we are
pleased that the
judge finally
ruled in favor
of the First
Amendment.”
Eckhardt said
the report,
which was
prepared by
college
employees,
evaluates how
Hammon and
others responded
when a female
student showed
the need for
mental health
treatment while
in Costa Rica.
Hammon didn’t
escort the
female student
back to the
United States,
Eckhardt said.
Rather, he said
other students
were assigned to
serve as the
student’s
caretaker,
including
dispensing drugs
to her. Eckhardt
said one of
Hammon’s
daughters also
served as a
chaperone on the
trip.
Hammon declined
comment Monday
about the report
and whether it
was critical of
his performance
on the Costa
Rica trip.
Henry F. Bailey,
lawyer for the
college, said
Tuesday that the
college has no
plans to appeal
but still
believes it was
important to try
to protect
private and
confidential
student
information.
“The only hope I
have now is that
the newspaper,
now that it has
what it wanted,
handles the
story in a way
that is not
harmful to the
individuals
involved,
particularly the
students,”
Bailey said.
The Associated
Press requested
a copy of the
report from the
college on
Tuesday but
didn’t receive
it immediately.
Bailey declined
to discuss the
report’s
contents.
“I will say this
about Dr. Hammon,”
Bailey said. “I
am not aware of
any facts that
would support
any claim that
he did anything
wrong on that
trip.” |
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