Joe the Plumber Hits Media Coverage, Tells 'E&P' He Hopes Palin Does Not Run in 2012 'E&P' on Twitter: Here's How to Hit the Tweet Spot! McClatchy Launches Digital Editions on the Kindle As 'NYT' Chicago Pages Debut, Local Papers Deliver 'Exclusives' EXCLUSIVE: Newspaper Sites' Time Spent Dropped in October UPDATE: AP Layoff Count Hits 90, Meets Goal 'Indy Star' Leads Fight for Lobbying-Laws Reform Ad Revenue Sees 13th Consecutive Quarter of Decline in Q3 NYT Co. Board Amends Bylaws to Ensure Transparency in Shareholder Nominations 40 Years Ago Today: Photos of My Lai First Appeared But Photographer Often Forgotten | This week's top stories Mediaweek: Top Headlines

IOWA CITY Johnson County attorney Janet Lyness has worked to keep private public records and court documents that could provide information about an investigation into a reported sexual assault on the University of Iowa campus.

Lyness said she has instructed Iowa officials to ignore public-records request for copies of subpoenas served on the university related to a sexual assault investigation that involves members of the Hawkeye football team.

Lyness also acknowledges that there is no case law to support what effectively amounts to a gag order imposed on administrators, faculty and staff at the 30,000-student university.

She said she is treating her investigation "like grand-jury proceedings."

Two open-records advocates questioned her actions, and one Iowa newspaper has sued the university over records that apparently fall under Lyness' gag order.

The public records in dispute include copies of subpoenas served on the university related to the alleged sexual assault, which reportedly took place Oct. 14 but wasn't reported to any law enforcement agency until Nov. 7. The Des Moines Register has filed an information request for those documents.

State law requires public officials to provide a response to a request for public records within 20 calendar days, but the school has refused to respond in writing to the request, and U of I Director of University Relations Steve Parrott, who typically provides the public with such information, has declined to comment.

Lyness, who was elected in 2006, said a court order issued by a district judge forbids officials from acknowledging that they received the subpoenas. She has also declined to provide a copy of the order or identify the judge who issued it.

On Friday, the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper filed a lawsuit seeking access to records related to the same sexual assault investigation. The Press-Citizen is seeking records of reported rapes or sexual assaults on campus in October, correspondence between athletic department officials and student services officials regarding any reported or attempted sexual assaults, and residence hall records related to sexual assaults in October.

Lyness said she had received advice from the Iowa attorney general's office that supports her taking broad measures to restrict information about the case.

"We treat this like grand-jury proceedings, which are confidential," Lyness said. "Like in a lot of Iowa cases, there is not specific case law on it, but instead it is our position that this would be interpreted like a grand-jury investigation and pretty strictly. There would be orders not to disclose anything."

Bob Brammer, a spokesman for the Iowa attorney general's office, declined to comment on remarks by Lyness. But Brammer said county prosecutors often consult with the attorney general's office on criminal procedure matters.