Idaho Attorney General Labrador Wins Sweeping Reversal at Idaho Supreme Court for University of Phoenix Case. By Press Release (12/08/24)

The Idaho Supreme Court just overturned a lower court ruling on the case involving the University of Idaho’s proposed purchase of the University of Phoenix, the State Board of Education, and Idaho’s Open Meetings Law. The the Idaho Supreme Court ruling in Labrador v. State Board of Education also reversed the district court’s award of attorney fees.

Key Points (quotes from the press release, minor edits):

• Per AG Labrador: The lower court’s ruling undermined Idaho’s Open Meetings Law and set a precedent for subjective belief instead of objective fact when determining if a meeting should be accessible to the public. The Idaho Supreme Court protected the right of the people to know exactly what their government officials are doing.

• Per Justice Gregory Moeller: The district court’s … discovery rulings not only hampered the Attorney General in performing its statutory duty to enforce the Idaho Open Meetings Law, I.C. § 74-208(5), but it also concealed the details of what transpired at the meetings from public view.