"The outcome of this case is exactly the same as what would have happened if UK had complied with the initial request five years ago. The Supreme Court ruled that the case return to trial court on remand, which means UK must sort through the documents and turn them over to the Kernel with legal justification for each record withheld, a process explicitly outlined in the open records law.

"So why did it take five years in court for the university to comply with a request that was within the bounds of Kentucky's open records law along? At the end of this ultimately roundabout exercise, the past five years look more like an excuse for the university to flex their muscles over an independent, student-run newspaper than a genuine obligation to the fulfillment of this open records request."