Aurora theater shooter James Holmes is led out of the courtroom after being formally sentenced on Aug. 26, 2015. (RJ Sangosti, Denver Post file)
Re: CU should stop hiding Aurora theater shooting report, Jan. 31 editorial.
The Denver Post called on the University of Colorado to release an investigation it conducted after James Holmes criminal actions. The Post suggests that because Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, nothing prevents the university from releasing the report. This is wrong on two fronts.
First, Holmes plea allowed participants in the criminal trial access to his medical health records, but only for the pretrial hearings, the trial and sentencing. Last month, District Attorney George Brauchler s office denied these same records to attorneys seeking them in a civil lawsuit.
Second, and even more significant, the investigative report is an educational record under federal law that the university cannot release, even in a redacted form, without Holmes consent (which he has refused).
The Post editorial asks the university to violate well-established state and federal laws, something we cannot do.
Patrick T. O Rourke, Denver
The writer is general counsel for the University of Colorado.
This letter was published in the Feb. 3 edition.
