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An attorney representing the University of Louisiana System has subpoenaed a USA Today reporter to turn over information he gathered for an award-winning series of articles about violations of the federal Title IX law across the university system, according to The Louisiana Illuminator.
The two subpoenas of Kenny Jacoby’s information and sources were issued in October and November as part of a lawsuit filed against the system by a former student after the student she accused of rape was permitted to transfer between institutions within the system despite being accused of numerous sexual assaults.
The first subpoena for the communications between Jacoby and his source was quashed by a judge in December, but the subpoena for him to testify in court is still pending.
Scott Sternberg, a First Amendment attorney and general counsel for the Louisiana Press Association, told the Illuminator that although there are some cases where a reporter can be subpoenaed, they are extremely rare.
“Anytime a government agency, including a school like UL, sends a subpoena for a reporter, it should be the exception, and a really narrow exception at that,” he said.
Jacoby explained in an affidavit that he would not reveal the information sought by the university system.
“It is an essential aspect of my job to build trust with sources, even more so for highly sensitive subject matter like sexual assault,” Jacoby wrote. “I would not be able to do my job as an investigative reporter if sources did not believe that I would honor my confidentiality agreements.”
Jim Henderson, a former journalist who was president of the UL system at the time the subpoenas were issued, said he does not question the legal strategy of the attorneys assigned to the case but noted they were from the state Department of Justice and were not system attorneys.
The Louisiana system is not unique in attempting to force journalists to reveal their sources for articles about sensitive matters or those that cast higher ed institutions or systems in an unflattering light. The University of Missouri System reached an agreement with student journalists last week that said they would no longer be required to reveal any information about sources in articles on sensitive situations such as sexual assault.
