Wyoming Judge Peter Arnold has dissolved his restraining order against the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, forbidding it to publish a report allegedly critical of a community college president.
Judge Arnold imposed the order May 21 upon the request of Laramie County Community College officials who maintained that publishing the report -- about a school-sponsored trip to Costa Rica in 2008 and the performance of LCCC President Darrel Hammon, who served as a chaperone -- could violate the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of students and parents by keeping education records confidential.
The Tribune Eagle obtained the report legally from a third party, after the college denied a request for a copy.
Ultimately, the judge dismissed the school’s argument that it could lose federal funding if the information should be published in the newspaper.
The Society of Professional Journalists applauded the reversal. “The decision to remove the restraining order was the right one and we applaud the court for recognizing this,” SPJ President Kevin Smith said in a statement. “Preventing the paper from providing this information to the public does little good but to create more distrust toward government.”
The Wyoming Press Association also spoke out against the prior restraint. Such cases of a judge issuing prior-restraint rulings are rare.
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle will publish the report on May 26, in addition to more information on judge Arnold’s ruling. The free bi-weekly Cheyenne Herald re-posted the internal report from LCCC and its article about the 2008 student trip to Costa Rica on Tuesday.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here