The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled 3-2 last Friday to allow the Dickinson School of Law's Board of Governors to meet privately and discuss moving the school from its current location in Carlisle to University Park.

The ruling freed the board from the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, which requires public agencies to hold open meetings. The case was brought before the court in November by two newspapers, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg and The Sentinel of Carlisle, whose lawyers demanded the board open meetings to the press.

"This decision vindicates the independence of the law school's Board of Governors," Dickinson Dean Philip McConnaughay stated in a press release. "It is the right decision and supports the board's contention that the Board of Governors is an independent entity and not a committee of the Penn State Board of Trustees."

Board of Governors Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman expressed the board's praise over the court's ruling.

"We are very pleased with it," he said. "We certainly feel that the Commonwealth Court's decision was a correct one. We have always met in private for 170 years, and we have always kept people advised by dealing with the media."

In an e-mail message, Rodney Erickson, Penn State's executive vice president and provost, approved of the court's decision on behalf of the university.

"We believe this is the right decision based on the law and the facts of the case. More broadly, the ruling allows the members of the many advisory boards and committees across the university to provide advice in settings where they do not feel constrained by participating in public venues," he said.

However, the board will still open an informational meeting to the press tomorrow at University Park, Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said.

McConnaughay said that because it is a meeting in which the board would receive information from University Park officials on possible sites for the law school, members felt it appropriate to invite the press.

"The board felt their discussion should be open to the public," he said.

Zimmerman added that the board has always felt it is important to share information with the press.

"There are opportunities to educate people, and we have always met with the press at the conclusion of all our meetings," he said. "I think it's good for the press to come up and see and hear what the University Park campus has to offer as a possible location for the Dickinson Law School."

Erickson said he does not believe the court's ruling will affect the board's decision on whether to move the law school to University Park.

"I anticipate that when the board members make their decision, it will be based on their assessment of the best interests of our future law students and alumni," he said.

Zimmerman said The Patriot-News and The Sentinel filed a petition Wednesday for an order to restore a preliminary injunction pending an appeal to the Commonwealth Court.

"I thought the Commonwealth Court wrote a very clear and concise opinion that we, the board of Governors, are an independent, non-profit association, and we are not a committee of Penn State University. Therefore we are not subject to the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act," he said.

McConnaughay said the newspapers hope to bring the case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Craig Staudenmaier, the Patriot-News' attorney, was not available for comment.