State receives temporary stay in release of records in UM rape case
The Montana University System has received a temporary stay in releasing records to author Jon Krakauer pertaining to the 2012 disciplinary hearing of University of Montana Grizzlies quarterback Jordan Johnson.
On Sept. 12, District Court Judge Kathy Seeley sided against the MUS, giving it 21 days to release the records to Krakauer regarding the case in question. But the clerk of court said Thursday that she didn’t receive the petitioner’s $45 filing fee to process the judgment, as required.
That left Seeley’s judgment sitting in the clerk’s office until Sept. 25, when it was stamped by Nancy Sweeney, the clerk of court. To comply with the judgment, the MUS was granted a stay, giving it until Oct. 16 to comply with Seeley’s original order – or the full 21 days.
“Apparently, the judge signed it on Sept. 12, but it sat in the clerk’s office for a long time,” said Kevin McRae of the MUS. “By the time we got it, we didn’t have the real 21 days, as the judge had ordered.”
McRae said the state doesn’t plan to release the records without calling in legal experts from the U.S. Department of Education for a closer review of Seeley’s order and its potential ramifications.
McRae said the state cannot risk violating the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Doing so could cost Montana students millions of dollars in educational grants, he said.
“The easiest thing in the world would be for the university system to release all records the public requests at any time,” McRae said. “But that would disregard the fact that there’s an expressed federal law that prohibits us from doing that.”
Krakauer is seeking records he believes pertain to the 2012 disciplinary proceedings conducted by UM against a student Krakauer names as Johnson, the starting quarterback for UM’s football team.
The UM disciplinary proceedings found Johnson guilty of rape and ordered him expelled from school. He was never expelled, however, and was later found not guilty of rape in Missoula County District Court. Johnson was temporarily suspended from the football team, but was reinstated after the criminal trial.
McRae said the state fears a lawsuit if it complies with Seeley’s order, which the MUS argues will force it to violate federal law.
“We’ll be in litigation one way or another, whether it’s the Department of Education, the students or with Krakauer,” McRae said. “We’re trying to do the right and responsible thing here.”
