HOPKINSVILLE, KY — On Friday, Feb. 16, Judge John L. Atkins granted WPSD Local 6's motion for summary judgment involving litigation by WPSD Local 6 against Murray State University.
The lawsuit stemmed from an investigation WPSD began in 2022 into Murray State University administrators and the university's public radio station, WKMS. Subsequent reporting in the spring of 2023 resulted from documents obtained by WPSD.
The documents portrayed an award-winning public radio news department struggling with administrators, particularly Murray State University President Robert "Bob" Jackson, about investigative reporting involving state lawmakers and other public figures and institutions.
Murray State University President Robert 'Bob' Jackson.
Other reporting has included questions about whether the radio station received budgetary punishment from the university.
WPSD amassed hundreds of pages of email correspondence, contracts, reports, and other paperwork through multiple open records requests. Some of the documents came only after a Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron ruling said Murray State violated the law.
WPSD then sued the university because the station believed the school continued to withhold or redact documents the public had a right to see improperly.
Attorney Rick Adams represented WPSD-TV in court in January.
Murray State had repeatedly cited attorney-client privilege and the preliminary records exemption for why the university redacted some portions.
The Feb. 16 ruling means Murray State University must now produce the documents to WPSD Local 6 without redactions.
Atkins wrote in the judgment: "The Court adopts the plaintiff's arguments in finding the defendant misused or misapplied the attorney-client privilege, the personal privacy privilege, the preliminary records exemption, and a near categorical redaction scheme at odds with existing law'."
Chief Circuit Judge John. L. Atkins of Kentucky's Third Judicial Circuit, Division 2.
The judgment comes approximately three weeks after Atkins deferred ruling on the matter because he needed to review additional documents.
"Having considered the arguments of counsel, the evidence presented, the pleadings, exhibits, and relevant precedents cited in our Commonwealth's lengthy Open Records Act jurisprudence, the Court GRANTS WPSD-TV's motion for summary judgment," the judgment reads.
Attorney Rick Adams represents WPSD Local 6 and said the ruling makes sense.
Attorney Rick Adams represented WPSD Local 6 during the litigation.
"I think this is a great ruling - it's exactly right. Other public agencies should look at this opinion and understand that there will be consequences for broad overreach redactions at the outset of a case and when they receive open records request," Adams said.
Adams described the ruling as a victory and said that Murray State University violated the law.
"It's a very short and sparse opinion, but I think he understood that really the original sin here was Murray State's initial production, which was way over-redacted. It was categorically redacted without any explanation for those redactions," Adams said.
Murray State University released this statement following the ruling: "We respect the court's decision as we maintain our commitment toward academic excellence, student success, and thoughtful public service in our west Kentucky region, the Commonwealth, and beyond."
WPSD Local 6 News Director Perry Boxx, pictured here on Feb. 19, called the Feb. 16 judgement a "victory."
WPSD Local 6 news director Perry Boxx also released a statement following the ruling. It reads: "Judge Atkins issued a clear and unmistakable order that MSU used 'a near categorical redaction scheme,' his words, at odds with the law to withhold information the people had a right to know. This victory for open government is good news at a time when the legislature continues to try to chop away at open records law. Open government laws are the fruit of the First Amendment. They are the legal mechanisms by which journalists fulfill their role in helping perfect and preserve democracy. We thank Judge Atkins and our attorneys, Michael Abate and Rick Adams. Thanks also to Amye Bensenhaver at the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. Lastly, I am grateful to work for a journalism organization like The Paxton Media Group, which was willing to stand up for what is right. We look forward to reviewing all the documents in question."
Adams expects attorneys representing Murray State University to deliver the documents quickly. Additionally, counsel for WPSD Local 6 has ten days to file a motion for attorney's fees, costs, and statutory penalties.
The summary judgment order is pictured below:
Previous coverage of the Murray State lawsuit is listed below:
