Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- November 22, 2023
- Location
- Sacramento, California
- Legal Orders
-
-
subpoena
for
other testimony
- Nov. 22, 2023: Pending
- Dec. 6, 2023: Objected to
- Feb. 1, 2024: Quashed
-
subpoena
for
other testimony
- Legal Order Target
- Journalist
- Legal Order Venue
- Federal
Subpoena/Legal Order
A portion of the subpoena issued to USA Today reporter Kenneth “Kenny” Jacoby on Nov. 22, 2023, ordering him to testify in connection with a negligence lawsuit against the University of Louisiana System.
Subpoena for California reporter’s testimony quashed
California-based USA Today reporter Kenneth “Kenny” Jacoby will not be compelled to testify in connection with a lawsuit against multiple Louisiana universities, after a subpoena served on him in November 2023 was quashed on Feb. 1, 2024, according to federal court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
In December, Jacoby requested that the court exempt him from testifying, arguing that the University of Louisiana System was seeking information protected by reporter’s privilege and shield laws.
Jacoby had reported in May 2021 that various Louisiana schools and police forces failed to share relevant information with each other after multiple women reported the same college student for sexual misconduct.
One of the women cited in the article then sued two university systems and a local government for negligence and Title IX violations, alleging that she had learned from the article that the universities had been aware of her assailant’s history of sexual misconduct before the attack against her.
The University of Louisiana System argued that the woman had learned the material facts underlying her allegations earlier than she claimed and had therefore missed the statute of limitations. To try to establish that timeline, it served Jacoby with an initial subpoena for documents and source communications in October 2023, which was quashed in December.
In November, the university system served Jacoby with a second subpoena for testimony about his communications with the woman.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled that Jacoby’s testimony was not essential or even relevant to the central questions in the case, and therefore “his journalistic privilege remains intact.”
When contacted by the Tracker, Jacoby declined to comment until the case officially ends. The university system has not replied to a query from the Tracker about whether it plans to appeal.
California-based USA Today reporter Kenneth “Kenny” Jacoby was subpoenaed on Nov. 22, 2023, to testify in connection with an ongoing lawsuit against multiple Louisiana universities. Jacoby was served a separate subpoena in October for documents and source communications, which was quashed in December.
In a May 2021 article, Jacoby reported that various Louisiana schools and police forces failed to share relevant information with each other after multiple women reported the same college student for sexual misconduct.
One of the women cited in Jacoby’s reporting filed a lawsuit against two university systems and a local government in May 2022, alleging negligence and violations of her rights under Title IX. According to the complaint, the woman — identified only as Jane Doe to protect her identity — learned from Jacoby’s article that the universities had been aware of her assailant’s history of sexual misconduct before the attack against her.
The board of supervisors of the University of Louisiana System initially issued Jacoby a sweeping document subpoena, which listed 28 requests for his communications, reporting materials and unpublished work product around the article. It was subsequently limited to just his texts with Doe and notes from their conversations, as well as an affidavit authenticating and contextualizing them.
The university system argued that the communications would prove that Doe had learned the material facts underlying her allegations earlier than she claimed and had missed the statute of limitations to file the lawsuit.
Though that subpoena was ultimately quashed on Dec. 21, the university system issued a second subpoena on Nov. 22 for Jacoby to testify concerning his communications with Doe (the subpoena was reissued just over a week later changing the time of the deposition).
Jacoby filed a request for a protective order on Dec. 6 requesting that the court ensure he is not compelled to testify. When contacted by the Tracker, Jacoby declined to comment further until the matter is resolved.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
