Judge: IU did not break law

A judge ruled that IU trustees did not violate Indiana's Open Door Law when they met to hear about plans to fire men's basketball coach Bob Knight.\nClark County Judge Cecile Blau said in a four-page ruling Monday that no more than four of the nine trustees met at any one time with then-IU President Myles Brand.\n"There is not a lot to say about the case," said Larry MacIntyre, director of IU media relations. "Our position has always been we obeyed the law. We argued that in court and the court upheld that."\nBlau said that Brand's conversations with less than a quorum did not fall within the law's definition of a meeting. The Open Door Law defines a meeting as a gathering of the majority of the governing body of a public agency to take official action, said Blau, a special judge selected to rule on the case filed in Monroe County.\nOfficial meetings must be advertised 48 hours before they are held, according to the policy.\nEven if the meetings did break the law, Blau could not set aside Knight's September 2000 dismissal because Brand, not the trustees, had the authority to fire him, she wrote.\nIn October 2000, 46 fans filed the lawsuit challenging the firing. Knight, now coach at Texas Tech University, was dismissed for what Brand called "uncivil, defiant and unacceptable" conduct.\nGojko Kasich, the Hebron attorney who represents the fans, said he hopes they will appeal to get a definitive ruling on what the Open Door Law requires.\n"I said from the beginning that a decision in our favor would be nice, but it's not going to be the end of the road," he said.\nThe fans said IU trustees bypassed the law when Brand invited them to his home to talk about firing Knight.\nMacIntyre said there could be an appeal by the fans, but IU is pleased with the case so far.\n"As far as we are concerned it's over and we are happy with the outcome," MacIntyre said.\nIU is facing another lawsuit filed by The Indianapolis Star, which is demanding documents related to Knight's firing, with a trial set for August.