FOIA Requests Following Judge Walker Loan News
Following news of the loan disbursed by Judge Walker to two of his former students, Fix the Court sent the following open records requests this week, three to the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law and one to the U.S. Department of Justice.
June 3, 2020
Dear Freedom of Information Officer:
Pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, I request access to and copies of all correspondence sent by Brandeis School of Law Prof. Justin R. Walker to Leah Spears or Jake Grey and all correspondence sent by Leah Spears or Jake Grey to Prof. Walker between Jan. 1, 2018, and June 3, 2020.
This should include, but should not be limited to, correspondence about:
1. A loan offered by Walker to Spears and Grey;
2. The amount of that loan;
3. The terms of that loan, including the interest rate and the repayment schedule;
4. Walker’s nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky;
5. Walker’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit;
6. Serving as a teaching assistant and/or research assistant and the compensation thereof;
7. Serving as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky; and
8. Task requests.
This should include all memos and all e-mail, print or other correspondence and attachments, including instances where Walker and/or his staff were carbon copied (CC’d).
If this request is denied in whole or in part, I ask that you justify all withholdings and deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the law. Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Gabe Roth
Executive Director
Fix the Court
________________________________________________________________
June 3, 2020
Dear Freedom of Information Officer:
Pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, I request access to and copies of all correspondence sent by Brandeis School of Law Prof. Justin Walker (justinreed.walker@louisville.edu) to Dean Colin Crawford (colin.crawford@louisville.edu) and/or Associate Dean Lars Smith (lars.smith@louisville.edu) and all correspondence sent by Dean Crawford and/or Associate Dean Smith to Prof. Walker between Jan. 1, 2018, and June 3, 2020.
This should include, but should not be limited to, correspondence about:
1. Walker’s nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky;
2. Walker’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit;
3. Teaching duties in the spring 2019 semester, summer 2019 term, fall 2019 semester, spring 2020 semester, summer 2020 term, fall 2020 semester and spring 2021 semester; and
4. Walker’s former research assistants Jake Grey and Leah Spears, any teaching responsibilities they had and any compensation they received.
This should include all memos and all e-mail, print or other correspondence and attachments, including instances where Walker and/or his staff were carbon copied (CC’d).
If this request is denied in whole or in part, I ask that you justify all withholdings and deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the law. Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Gabe Roth
Executive Director
Fix the Court
________________________________________________________________
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I request access to and copies of all correspondence sent by, to or about Justin R. Walker of Louisville to or from OPA Director Kerri Kupec, OPA Principal Deputy Director Matt Lloyd and/or Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel between June 22, 2018, and June 3, 2020.
This should include, but should not be limited to correspondence about:
1. Walker’s nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky;
2. Walker’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit;
3. A loan Walker gave two former students that was described in Section VII, line 14, of his Financial Disclosure Report – Nomination Filing dated May 8, 2020.
This should include all memos and all e-mail, print or other correspondence and attachments, including instances where Walker and/or his staff were carbon copied (CC’d).
If this request is denied in whole or in part, I ask that you justify all withholdings and deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the law. Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Gabe Roth
Executive Director
Fix the Court
________________________________________________________________
June 4, 2020
Dear Freedom of Information Officer:
Pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, I request access to and copies of the following:
1. All complaints filed against Brandeis Law School Prof. Justin R. Walker from Aug. 1, 2015, through June 4, 2020;
2. Any reprimands or discipline resulting from those complaints from Aug. 1, 2015, through June 4, 2020;
3. All course evaluations of Prof. Justin R. Walker from Aug. 1, 2015, through June 4, 2020; and
4. All faculty meeting minutes from from Jan. 1, 2019, through June 4, 2020.
I also request access to and copies of any correspondence between Brandeis Law administrators Lars Smith (lars.smith@louisville.edu), Tony Arnold (tony.arnold@louisville.edu) and Renee Ferrell (renee.ferrell@louisville.edu) that describe the following:
1. A student’s request to transfer out of a class taught by Prof. Justin R. Walker; and
2. Any racially or sexually insensitive comments uttered in a class taught by Prof. Justin R. Walker.
If this request is denied in whole or in part, I ask that you justify all withholdings and deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the law. Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Gabe Roth
Executive Director
Fix the Court