WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court is denying author Jon Krakauer's petition to force the State of Montana to release more records related to the University of Montana rape controversy of a few years ago.
Krakauer has been fighting for the past several years to force the Montana Office of Higher Education to release full records of the 2013 investigation into reported sexual assaults at UM. Those incidents formed the basis of his book, "Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town."
Krakauer had argued there were unanswered questions about how UM leadership at the time handled the investigation which proceeded the high profile rape trial and acquittal of former quarterback Jordan Johnson.
A lower court had given Krakauer access to redacted records two years ago, but last year the Montana Supreme Court overturned that decision. Krakauer had hoped the Supreme Court would be willing to hear the question of whether the state's use of a federal law to keep the records confidential was allowed.
But in Monday's actions, the high court denied the appeal without comment.
