Herald Co. v. Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents

The question presented in this case is whether the Washtenaw Circuit Court (the circuit court) properly withheld from disclosure a letter (Doyle letter) written by Eastern Michigan University’s (EMU) Vice President of Finance Patrick Doyle to a member of defendant EMU Board of Regents, Jan Brandon. The circuit court held that the letter was exempt as a frank communication under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq. The Doyle letter was written at Brandon’s request as part of defendant’s investigation of allegations that the then-president of EMU, Samuel Kirkpatrick, had…