Montana high court: rape case records get extra protection
MISSOULA, Mont. — Ruling that records of college students have a heightened level of privacy protection, the Montana Supreme Court on Monday rejected the wholesale public release of disciplinary records related to a former University of Montana quarterback who had been accused of rape.
The court ruled that the records sought by “Into the Wild” author Jon Krakauer be reviewed confidentially by a lower court judge to determine if any should be released publicly.
Krakauer wanted to know why the Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian vacated campus decisions to expel the quarterback, who was later acquitted of rape.
Before the case went to state court, it went through the university’s disciplinary process, which concluded the rape most likely occurred and the quarterback should be expelled.