The University must submit its brief for appeal of the contempt of court ruling and the approximately $65,000 fine that comes with it by November 15th, University attorney Jimmy Faircloth said.
The brief will contain a summary of the facts of the trial as heard by district judge Janice Clark and the reasoning behind the University’s appeal of her decision to hold the University in contempt.
Clark held the University in contempt of court for its failure to quickly respond to a court order that ordered the University to hand over papers containing details of the applicants considered in the University’s search to fill the vacant position of University president earlier this year. Clark placed a $500 per day contempt fine on the University, which accumulated from her original order in April until the University handed the documents over in September.
Faircloth said the University’s arguments in the appeal brief will be substantially the same as those used in the original trial. Loretta Mince, attorney for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and The Advocate, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said Faircloth’s argument was based on the University’s attempt to appeal the case in August.
Mince said the University will also file an appeal at a later date pertaining to Clark’s overall ruling that the documents ought to be public records. Depending on the timing of the filing of the second appeal, Clark said the Court of Appeals may decide to consolidate the two into a single hearing.
Faircloth said it is unlikely the cases will be consolidated because the trial court clerk’s office has not yet filed Clark’s final judgment.
“The only thing that’s preferable to us at this point is when we can get the briefs in and register our arguments,” Faircloth said. “Until the clerk’s office files the judgment, we can’t do that.”