UVA Goes To Court To Stop Cuccinelli's Subpoena Of Prof's Papers

The University of Virginia is going to court in attempt to thwart a request from state's attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, to obtain the papers of one of its former professors.

The Washington Post reports:

In a motion filed in Charlottesville, the University of Virginia argued that Cuccinelli's subpoena for papers and e-mail from global warming researcher Michael Mann exceeds the attorney general's authority under state law and intrudes on the rights of professors to pursue academic inquiry free from political pressure.

Cuccinelli, a vocal skeptic of global warming who is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over the issue, has said he is investigating whether Mann committed fraud by knowingly skewing data as he sought publicly funded grants for his research. Mann left U-Va. in 2005 and now works at Penn State.

Cuccinelli's move has brought together academics countrywide in support of Mann's cause and raised questions of academic freedom. In a statement, UVA President John Casteen III said that Cuccinelli's effort "sent a chill through the Commonwealth's colleges and universities."

An recent Post report detailed how Cuccinelli was "gaining a reputation as a political antagonist to the state's college campuses."

Earlier this year Cuccinelli angered many on campuses by asserting that colleges are not in a position to protect their gay employees from discrimination.

What do you think? Is Cuccinelli overstepping boundaries? Leave a comment weighing in.

Comments

[SirReal1]

12:42 PM on 06/01/2010

Crazy as a "Cooch"!

[darma2u]

05:35 PM on 05/31/2010

Politics! (shaking my head) The I'd do/say anything to get elected mentality hasn't changed, why? Because at a minimum it gets 'face time'. Would imagine he is just fanning the embers so to speak. Apparently he has nothing else left so he goes for the low hanging fruit.....all clichés. On the other hand it shows his mentality and has the scent of McCarthyism or Lee Atwater, to K. Rove style of 'politics'. Pointing fingers, or connect your name to something of question, true or not,.... ie. does Cuccinelli have a mistress or something else to hide? This is easy enough to do.(Shrug) The other side of this, what protects any of us from this kind of police state mentality or character assignation? or is UVA correct, that "..... under state law and intrudes on the rights of professors to pursue academic inquiry free from political pressure". I do not have the answer and will just have to follow this in the press, while pulling for UVA and academic freedom.

[CoronaDischarge]

08:30 PM on 05/30/2010

It's a cheap way to get notoriety. I doubt he expects to win. He must have enough on the ball to at least know his fishing expedition is a waste. But what it does do is keep his name alive in crazy land. When you're up against Sarah Palin's DIY projects and Sue Lowden's health care reforms you have to shout pretty loud to be noticed. And all it costs was a simple subpoena, reasoned about as astutely as a Glen Beck blackboard rant.

[thepoliticalcat]

03:33 PM on 05/29/2010

Why is this worthless P0S wasting taxpayer money targeting campuses and academics? Isn't there plenty of real crime and corporate crime in VA to prosecute?

[drsoos]

09:19 AM on 05/29/2010

The angry right strikes again. Can you say fascism? And teabaggers think Obama's health care plan is tyrannical?:

[PhoenixGSU]

08:48 AM on 05/29/2010

More proof that fascism is on the rise in the US.

[JDHART]

08:05 AM on 05/29/2010

As a Virginia, all I have to say to the people who voted him is that I hope you're happy now.

[JacksonHts]

03:10 AM on 05/29/2010

Arizona right wing nuts made a run to preempt national immigration policy....now one of Virginia's right wing nuts is making a run to preempt national environmental policy.

[RodgzK]

07:07 PM on 05/28/2010

What are the chances that Mr Cuccinelli is smart enough to understand Michael Mann's papers if he gets them?

[thepoliticalcat]

03:34 PM on 05/29/2010

Close to zero, I'd reckon.

[reasonshouldrule]

11:29 PM on 05/31/2010

Good point! Fanned.

[tom90069]

04:15 PM on 05/28/2010

these people are crazy. so teabagger vote in one of their ring wing nut jobs. look at what they waste taxpayer money on, political witch hunts. where's the outrage from glenn beck and the rest of keep your hands off my medicare crowd. i guess its okay for the gop to abuse power, but its not okay for democrat, in a majority, to do something positive for the country. how about getting vested in cleaner home grown energy.

[flashL1ght]

03:39 PM on 05/28/2010

What a useful expense for Virginia taxpayers. Maybe he should stick to his day job, and pay for his federal lawsuits with his own money?

[Dave4ObamaSinceDay1]

03:39 PM on 05/28/2010

I'd like to know what Virginians think about their AG or are they in the teabagger bandwagon as well. It seems like both he and the current governor ran as middle-of-the-roaders and then came out of the teabagger closet after being elected.

[morven]

03:43 PM on 05/28/2010

That is exactly what the repubs did. Cuccinelli will probably want to run for Governor. Just let him keep digging. I look forward to the repub's political demise.

[Indoboy7]

03:35 PM on 05/28/2010

Cuccinelli is THE POSTER BOY to illluminate the fact that sometimes education is not only wasted, but it makes them dangerous to the overall wellbeing of society in general..BEFORE he totall shreds the fabric of society, This Neanderthal should (somehow) be convinced to retreat to his cave, roll the huge rock back into place - never to be heard from again..We would ALL be better off without his maniacal ranting/ravings...polluting the airwaves..

[swanie]

02:57 PM on 05/28/2010

Ken Cuccinelli is doing EXACTLY what I would expect of ANY right-wing, dinosaur riding evangelical.

What he does is EXACTLY the opposite of what Christ would do.

So much of being a good christian (small"c" on purpose).
.

[scat]

01:50 PM on 05/28/2010

If the papers and e-mails were created while the employee is being paid at a state sponsored institution. the state has ownership.

Pretty simple stuff.

[caddy121]

02:19 PM on 05/28/2010

Not so fast. If the research was done under a grant, not provided by the State, the State may not have a claim for ownership. There are many cases where the State cannot claim ownership. Additionally for a DA to pursue suit against academic research that he doesn't agree with is no less than pursuing criminal charges against a citizen that disagree's in a public forum with his wasteful spending of State resources.

[scat]

02:24 PM on 05/28/2010

please note that I started my post with If. I do not pretend to know the circumstances.
Rather, was just making a statement.

If the state does in fact claim ownership, they are public domain, and the DA can have access. No matter the cause. Just as we would be able to have access.

[swanie]

02:57 PM on 05/28/2010

. . . except that it is not true.
.