By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The website Planet Princeton and Princeton University are headed to Superior Court next month to determine whether records detailing response protocols between the school’s public safety department and the municipal police must be released.
The university is fighting to shield jurisdictional response maps, in a case that a judge will decide. The two sides are scheduled to go before Judge Mary C. Jacobson, sitting in Trenton, on July 6.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit that website founder Krystal Knapp brought earlier this year against the municipality and municipal clerk Linda McDermott.
Ms. Knapp sued in March after her public records request for the operating agreements between the police and university Department of Public Safety and other records was turned down for “security reasons.” The town subsequently decided to release some but not all of the documents she had sought, with Nassau Hall stepping forward to block their complete disclosure.
The university and Ms. Knapp failed to settle out of court, despite efforts by their lawyers. On Friday, Ms. Knapp posted a story on her site saying talks had “ended.” Her attorney, Walter M. Luers, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
“The university has nothing to say on the matter,” Princeton spokeswoman Min Pullan said Tuesday.
Ms. Knapp wrote in her story the university is seeking to block the release of the maps and a chart.
Should she win in court, Ms. Knapp would be entitled to her legal fees, based on a provision in state Open Public Records Act. That means the town would be on the hook for some initial portion of those expenses, with Nassau Hall paying the balance.
