IN Supreme Court declines to hear Knight case

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The state Supreme Court has declined to hear a lawsuit accusing Indiana University of violating the state's open meetings law in the days leading up to the firing of basketball coach Bob Knight.
     
That brings the lawsuit filed by 46 fans six years ago to a dead end, with the university's actions being upheld.
     
The fans sued the university in October 2000, a month after then-President Myles Brand fired Knight for violating a "zero-tolerance" policy for misbehavior. Knight, now the coach at Texas Tech, was fired after he angrily grabbed the arm of a student who greeted him by his last name.
     
The fans claimed IU's nine-member board of trustees illegally met in two private sessions with Brand to discuss Knight's status.
     
University attorneys argued the sessions did not constitute a meeting under state law because a majority of the board members were not present for either one.
     
A Clark County judge appointed to hear the case ruled against the fans in May 2005, and the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the decision in June. The Supreme Court on Thursday included the lawsuit on a list of cases it had declined to consider.
     
University spokesman Larry MacIntyre said IU officials were pleased that the Supreme Court let the ruling stand.
     
"This has been our position all along," he said.
     
Gojko Kasich, an attorney from Hebron who represented the fans, said the group was right to seek a review of the trustees' actions.
     
"That's all I wanted, for someone to make a stand, and they've made their stand," he said.
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Information from: The Herald-Times, http://www.hoosiertimes.com
     
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)