LSU Board Hit With Penalty In Public Records Case

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Baton Rouge judge has ordered the LSU Board of Supervisors to pay thousands in penalties to two newspapers, after refusing to provide them with presidential search records.

Judge Janice Clark applied the maximum $100 per day penalty, along with a requirement that LSU reimburse the newspapers for attorneys' fees and court costs.

Thursday's decision is estimated to cost LSU about $80,000 — on top of $63,000 in earlier contempt of court fines.

The Advocate and The Times-Picayune had sued for information about other candidates considered by the search committee before the board hired King Alexander for the job.

Clark ruled the university system board violated the public records law by refusing to release the information. LSU has turned over the records under seal and will appeal the judge's rulings.