The documents are covered by a protective order forbidding disclosure by lawyers.
Moreover, the District Court's order forbids disclosure until completion of the investigation of respondents without any showing that secrecy is justified.
The university, backed by the big guns of academia, argues that the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or Ferpa, forbids disclosure of such information — and threatens the loss of federal financing if it hands over private records.
As Ms. Lewin reports: The university argues that the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or Ferpa, forbids disclosure of such information — and threatens the loss of federal financing if it hands over private records.
Next, some firms complain that new transparency rules wedge them between a rock and a hard place: abiding by an EU requirement to be open, for instance, could mean breaking the law in a country of operation that forbids disclosure.
Moreover, as often pointed out, public policy forbids disclosure of an informer's identity unless essential to the defense as for example where this turns upon an officer's good faith.
Yesterday, Wilson Fadely, a spokesman for the I.R.S. in Washington, said the law forbade disclosure of information on a taxpayer's form, and therefore he could not comment on the Getty revelations.
The question of what was disclosed to reporters by Mr. Starr's office could be critical if it was found to violate Federal law, Justice Department guidelines or rules of ethics forbidding disclosure of grand jury information.
"The Court of Appeals has held that a government agency may withhold records under the Freedom of Information Law, but it is only obligated to do so when an act of Congress or the State Legislature forbids disclosure," he said.
