Kirwan v. the Diamondback

ELDRIDGE, Judge.

We issued a writ of certiorari in this case to decide whether the Maryland Public Information Act, Maryland Code (1984, 1995 Repl.Vol., 1997 Supp.), § 10-611 through § 10-628 of the State Government Article, or the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232(g), authorizes the nondisclosure of certain information requested from the University of Maryland, College Park, by The Diamondback, a campus newspaper. We must also decide whether the trial judge erred in refusing to award attorney fees to The Diamondback.

I

In February 1996 the University of…