Abstract
Two different Illinois newspapers have sued the University of Illinois-Springfield (UIS) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for the release of documents pursuant to Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These cases present somewhat new, interesting, and developing problems in the law, including, but not limited to: the public’s right to information, student privacy rights, and whether a federal law like the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) can override any state’s FOIA. If the universities are forced to violate FERPA, or if the newspapers appeal a negative decision and file for certiorari, their cases could end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and Justice Scalia. Since the UIUC case has already been before Judge Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Illinois and the media has recently characterized him as Scalia’s foe, this Article examines their supposed contrasting judicial philosophies and determines just how each of them would decide the discussed cases.
Recommended Citation
Kristin Knotts,
FOIA vs. FERPA/Scalia vs. Posner,
38
S. Ill. U. L.J.
241
(2014).
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol38/iss2/2