Judge keeps Knight firing records sealed

A Monroe County Circuit Court ruling Monday upheld IU's decision to seal a report that could give clues to the firing of former basketball coach Bob Knight.\nThe Indianapolis Star filed a lawsuit in October 2000 under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act, seeking release of a report conducted by two lawyers, who were also University trustees, investigating Knight's conduct. \nSpecial Judge Jane Spencer Craney ruled IU did not violate the act because the report is part of the attorney-client confidentiality agreement, the Associated Press reported. \n"I am gratified that the University was found to be correct in their interpretation of the law with respect to the communications we had accumulated during the course of the investigation," said Fred Eichhorn, one of the former trustees who conducted the report.\nFormer IU President Myles Brand hired Eichhorn and former trustee John Walda to investigate claims former basketball player Neil Reed made, Eichhorn said. \nNeither of the trustees were paid for their work, "but that does not determine the lawyer-client relationship," Eichhorn said. "It could be a lawyer-client relationship without compensation."\nEichhorn said he did "not really" believe there was a conflict of interest in investigating IU while at the same time serving as trustee. He added it would not have been wiser for the University to hire other counsel.\nLarry MacIntyre, director of IU media relations, said University Counsel Dorothy Frapwell was pleased with the decision, though Frapwell said she could not comment on the ruling because she has not read it.\n"From day one, we believed (the report) was privileged and not subject to release," MacIntyre said. \nIn November 2001, Craney ruled in IU's favor because state code only requires "final personnel disciplinary action" become public, not the investigation process. Craney is a Morgan County judge who presided over the case because all Monroe County judges recused themselves, according to an August 2005 Indiana Daily Student report. \nAfter appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals, the case was sent back to Craney to determine whether Eichhorn and Walda were acting as University representatives.\nIn a 1997 television interview, Reed said Knight choked him -- an allegation which led to a "zero tolerance" policy for the former coach. Knight was then fired in May 2000.\nIndianapolis Star Managing Editor Pam Fine said the paper's Editor and Vice President Dennis Ryerson will review the case when he returns from vacation Monday. \nIn a February 2005 article, Ryerson told the Indiana Daily Student that it is easy for public institutions to keep information from the public. \nMacIntyre said the University does not agree that this information is something that has to be open to the public.\n"It is our policy to comply with the Public Records Act," he said. "If it's something the law requires the government to publish, we do. We don't drag our heels; we comply with the law, always"