The 5th U.S. Circuit Court has denied a petition for writ of mandamus from Baylor University in regard to its Title IX lawsuit. The request was denied on Monday.
A (writ of) mandamus is an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion, according to the Wex Legal Dictionary.
The petition would have blocked the release of around 6,200 current and former students' records relating to Code of Conduct violations that involve sexual conduct. Baylor University now has no choice but to hand over those documents.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court claims mandamus relief is reserved for extraordinary matters and is unavailable for the determination of ordinary discovery disputes.
The following was included in the response to Baylor's University petition:
"Baylor seeks to interpose, unnecessarily, this Court into piecemeal micro-managing a complex discovery dispute. In so doing, the Petition omits key details necessary for the Court to fairly adjudicate this matter. And, in any event, the three discovery orders challenged here are eminently reasonable. The District Court’s orders do not justify mandamus relief."
The entire response is included below.
Lori Fogleman, spokesperson for Baylor University, released a statement in response to the decision.
"Baylor appreciates the Court's consideration of the University's mandamus petition. Our ongoing objective has been to protect the confidential medical, counseling and student conduct records of students who were not involved in the Plaintiffs' cases. We will continue to comply with the trial court's orders regarding discovery."
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