The Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments last Thursday about Attorney General and University alumnus Ken Cuccinelli's request for information from the University concerning the climate change research of former University Environmental Sciences Prof. Michael Mann.
It will issue a ruling March 2, when its next term ends, said Barry Meek, associate general counsel at the University.
Cuccinelli submitted a brief to the court which stated that "the matter presently before the court deals with a pre-suit investigation by the Attorney General regarding whether there may have been a violation of [the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act]."
The legal battle has reached the state's highest court after 17 months of disputes in the lower courts. In August 2010, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Paul Peatross Jr. ruled that the attorney general had not been specific enough in filing the civil investigative demands or within the statute governing them, a decision Cuccinelli attempted to overturn.\nMann is not directly involved in this case because Cuccinelli is seeking information directly from the University.
Meek said the University, which was represented by the law firm Hogan Lovells, focused on two issues Thursday. One was whether Cuccinelli complied with the statute which outlines restrictions on the attorney general's ability to use CIDs. The second was how the request for information about Mann's work may affect academic research.
The University does not believe it needs to comply with the CIDs issued by Cuccinelli.
The University objected because of "the necessity of the attorney general to follow the statute ... which authorizes the attorney general to conduct investigations" but restricts the scope of those investigations," Meek said. The University was also concerned with "the potential chilling effect that such a request [in the form of the CIDs] could have on robust academic debate."
Cuccinelli spokesperson Brian Gottstein said in an email that Cuccinelli's attorneys will not comment on the events of the hearing until the Supreme Court makes its decision.\nHe added that the information requested from the University was "produced on the commonwealth's time with the commonwealth's (taxpayer's) money which belong to [the public University], not to Dr. Mann"
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