Court rules donor names not public records
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Names of financial donors to the University of Louisville
Foundation should not be disclosed under the state's Open Records Act, the
Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The three-judge panel's decision overturned a previous Jefferson County Circuit
Court ruling that found that only the names of donors who had requested
anonymity be exempt from public disclosure. The Courier-Journal of Louisville
and the foundation have been involved in a legal dispute over the records since
2001.
"We conclude that the privacy interests of the donors to the foundation outweigh
the public interest in disclosure and hold that all of the records should be
held exempt from disclosure," Judge Julia Tackett of Lexington wrote in the
court's opinion.
The newspaper was seeking records about the donors to the foundation and the
McConnell Center for Political Leadership, which is named after U.S. Sen. Mitch
McConnell.
Records that have been publicly released showed corporate donors to the center
included those in the tobacco, energy and defense industries.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Steve Mershon previously ruled that donors should
not be exempt from public disclosure. Only those who requested anonymity should
be withheld, the judge had ruled.
In the appeal, the foundation argued the opposite, that all donor records should
be kept private. Meanwhile, the newspaper maintained all donor records should be
public record.
However, the appellate panel disagreed.
"It does not matter whether a donor has specifically requested anonymity; the
circuit court's logic in holding that a donor's request for anonymity somehow
weighs in the analysis is flawed," Tackett wrote. "We believe that unless the
donor specifically waives the right to privacy, it should remain protected
whether requested or not."
Previously, the Kentucky Supreme Court had ruled the foundation is a public
agency and is subject to the open records law.
The appellate panel ruled that because the foundation was a public agency, there
"are other ways in which its operations may be scrutinized through the Open
Records Act without impinging on the privacy interests of its donors."
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