The OU Board of Regents filed a motion to close the courtroom for oral argument regarding a lawsuit pursuing the release of reports by the Jones Day law firm that include allegations about former OU President David Boren and Former Vice President of University Development Jim "Tripp" Hall.
On Aug. 28, Cleveland County Judge Michael Tupper decided to postpone judgment and schedule further hearings regarding news and media outlets’ access to the courtroom. According to university lawyers, the reports include details of interviews with 62 people that were made in confidence. The reports supposedly detail witnesses’ statements on the allegations of sexual misconduct against Boren and Hall.
The motion, filed on Sept. 13, argues that an open judgment hearing would harm the university and the public and calls for a closed summary judgment instead.
“The University could be subject to civil liability for retaliation under Title IX and the U.S. Constitution if it breaches its prior assurances of confidentiality,” the motion reads. “Holding the summary judgment hearing in open court is one such way in which that information could wrongfully become public.”
While the university acknowledged the curiosity of the general public about the reports, the motion argues the court is only reviewing evidence to determine if the case should be dismissed on summary judgment or proceed to trial, therefore there is no constitutional right to an open summary judgment hearing.
The motion additionally argues that the witnesses of the Jones Day reports rely on the university and the court to maintain their information as confidential.
“The purpose of summary judgment is to either dispose of a legal action before public trial or limit the factual matters tried,” the motion reads. “The use of information and evidence produced in discovery is meant to ‘facilitate orderly preparation for trial, not to educate or titillate the public.’”
The motion includes that the Plaintiffs can later motion to unseal the transcript for public consumption without risking the release of confidential information.
The reports were gathered in 2018 and 2019 by Jones Day law firm and sent to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation in 2019. Charges were not filed against Boren, Hall or the university.
In June 2021, Tres Savage, editor-in-chief of NonDoc, filed a lawsuit against the OU Board of Regents, claiming the university had violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act by not releasing these reports. During the Aug. 28 hearing, Savage and his counsel argued the public has a constitutional right to access the details of the investigation and the documents in question are not confidential.
This story was edited by Ismael Lele and Ana Barboza. Gretchen Schultz and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
