Louisiana Newspapers Lose Bid for 911 Tapes

By: (AP) A judge in Baton Rouge has refused to let five Louisiana newspapers hear the 911 calls made after Secretary of State Fox McKeithen suffered a paralyzing fall.

State District Judge Janice Clark ruled McKeithen's privacy rights outweigh the public's right to know. The Gannett newspapers -- the Alexandria Town Talk, Monroe News Star, Lafayette Advertiser, Shreveport Times and Opelousas Daily World -- haven't decided yet whether to appeal.

McKeithen suffered a spinal cord injury in the fall at his home Feb. 17. The suit was filed after the East Baton Rouge Parish attorney refused a public records request from the papers' Baton Rouge bureau.