HELENA — Attorneys for author Jon Krakauer and the Montana University System are asking a judge to decide whether the state should release documents on how the commissioner of higher education handled a rape case against the University of Montana quarterback.
Krakauer attorney Mike Meloy told District Judge Kathy Seeley Wednesday the documents are for a book Krakauer is writing about sexual assaults at the university.
Records released in a federal court case detailed the proceedings against a student, later identified as quarterback Jordan Johnson. Meloy says a university court found the student had raped another student and recommended expulsion.
Meloy says the accused student appealed to Commissioner Clayton Christianson, but the record ends there.
Johnson was not expelled.
Christianson attorney Viv Hammill says the state could lose federal funding if it releases records without a student’s consent.