Unseal Sandusky settlement files, media lawyers urge Philly judge

A lawyer for a coalition of media outlets on Thursday told a Philadelphia judge that the public deserves to see sealed records on Pennsylvania State University's settlements with Jerry Sandusky's accusers, while the school's lawyers said such a step would unfairly open the victims to ridicule and embarrassment.

The battle began after a ruling last month by Common Pleas Court Judge Gary S. Glazer cited sealed records that suggest some accusers who received payments from the university claimed that legendary coach Joe Paterno or his assistants knew about Sandusky's sexual abuse decades before his arrest.

After hearing an hour's worth of arguments Tuesday on whether the public deserved access to those files, Glazer did not indicate when he would rule or what would shape his decision.

During the proceeding, he took issue with a Penn State lawyer's contention that information in the records has been private and should remain so. "There are many proceedings that start secret and end up not so secret," Glazer said, citing grand jury proceedings as an example.

But the judge also said that if he unsealed the records, they could be seen and used by parties beyond the media - including the Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com - that have petitioned to unseal them.

"I have no problem with the organizations here," Glazer said. "But it doesn't apply universally."

The existence of some settlements came to light as part of Glazer's ruling in a dispute between Penn State and its insurer, Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association Insurance Co., over who should cover the cost of the nearly $93 million the school has paid to 32 Sandusky accusers since 2013.

In his opinion, Glazer cited claims from a man who alleged that he told Paterno in 1976 that Sandusky, then an assistant football coach, had molested him.

That assertion is more than three decades before the first date that state prosecutors and an independent report have said they believe Paterno learned about Sandusky's sexual misconduct.

Craig J. Staudenmaier, the lawyer representing the media groups, told the judge that the records were a matter of great public interest and that there was "no compelling government interest" for keeping them sealed.

"This is information that needs to be made public," he argued, noting that Penn State is a publicly funded university and that the documents could shed light on when and what university officials knew about Sandusky's abuse. Unsealing the records will also give the public "more confidence that the system is working properly," Staudenmaier said.

But Alexander Bilus, a lawyer for Penn State, argued that even if names in the files were redacted, releasing the records could subject the accusers to ridicule and embarrassment. "This is very sensitive private information that has not been made public," he said.

Glazer asked Bilus if Penn State's status as a university that receives public funds should have any bearing. "Does that tip the scales?" he asked.

Bilus noted that the school is not a state entity but rather a "state-related" university. Despite that, Staudenmaier told the judge, the university receives hundreds of millions in state funding and is public in that sense.

Bilus argued that some of the information in the records was obtained through mediation in the insurance case and is privileged. Accusers who gave depositions were promised confidentiality and the information should remain private, he told the judge.

Glazer made it clear at the start of the hearing that if he agreed to release any records, names and other identifying information would first be redacted. He also noted that only parts of the depositions that are included in the court records could be made public - not the full depositions, which he doesn't have.

Bilus argued that if the court were to unseal the documents, it would need to "analyze every single sentence" to determine if the information could identify the accusers. He also said the judge should consider their opinions on unsealing the records. Bilus said Penn State could ask them.

Staudenmaier argued that that could be "a procedural nightmare," and noted that the victims' identities would be guarded anyway. He also accused Penn State of "being a little self-serving," noting that information in the records could shed more light on when university officials knew about Sandusky's abuse.

Steven J. Engelmeyer, a lawyer for the insurance company, said it was Penn State - not the insurance company - that made many of the documents part of the court record. "You don't get to submit mediation material to a court and then say, keep it private," he argued.

The insurance company has taken no position on the news organizations' motion, but asked that if it is granted, the court "protect all alleged victims' names and identities from public disclosure."

Before his death in 2012, Paterno denied any knowledge of Sandusky's sexual attacks on children, and his relatives and legions of supporters have continued to attack any such suggestion as unsubstantiated.

The coalition of news outlets - which also includes the Harrisburg Patriot-News, the Associated Press, the State College Centre Daily Times, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - has argued that public interest in the case and topic is "immense," and extends to discovering what the coaches at the state's largest public educational institution knew and did about a serial predator in their midst.

ssnyder@phillynews.com 215-854-4693 @ssnyderinq www.philly.com/campusinq