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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has declined to decide whether Brigham Young University must release records of correspondence between its police department and its Honor Code Office.
In a Wednesday opinion, the state’s high court said the “interests of justice are not served” in such a ruling because a new state law has reshaped the legal battle. The 2019 Legislature tweaked Utah’s code pertaining to public records, clarifying that it applies to law-enforcement arms of private universities.
The Salt Lake Tribune first sought the emails in 2016 and again this year after the new law took effect. That effort, if BYU fights it, will hinge on the rewritten law, not on the question before the high court of whether BYU police is a public entity, Justice Paige Petersen wrote.
The Tribune sought the documents as it reported on allegations that BYU police helped the Honor Code Office investigate and discipline students who reported sexual assault for violating the school’s honor code at the time they were victimized.
Attorneys for the Tribune have argued the school’s officers were carrying out a public function and the new law applies to old records — so long as an agency has retained them like BYU police has.
Lawyers for the university countered that its law enforcers are an extension of the private school and are not like the Utah Highway Patrol or the state’s Bureau of Investigation.
Both parties sought an answer from the justices, saying they had concerns about confusion and possible mischief in the future if the debate is not settled.
BYU, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, requires students to sign the honor code, promising to be honest, live chaste lives, obey the law and campus policies, abstain from drinking alcohol and regularly participate in church services, among other things.
Related:
BYU’s Honor Code website now details the entire investigation process
Following student criticism of Brigham Young University’s Honor Code Office, the school’s website now details the office’s entire investigation process and clarifies that Honor Code employees are “not therapists.”The university has also appealed a Utah Department of Public Safety move to decertify the school’s police department, which was based in part on its finding that BYU police failed to investigate after a lieutenant accessed police reports and shared them with BYU administrators.
Reports of the officer’s conduct sparked protests on the Provo campus and in part led the university to overhaul its protocol for handling sexual assault. In July, the Honor Code Office announced more updates on how allegations would be handled and allowing a student to have a support person to accompany them to meetings.
The case now returns to 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City.
