The Daily Pennsylvanian v. City of Philadelphia

Case Number: 241200104

Court: Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas

Client: The Daily Pennsylvanian

Background: As part of its continuing coverage of student protests related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, The Daily Pennsylvanian, the University of Pennsylvania’s independent student newspaper, published an article on Oct. 22, 2024, reporting complaints by student pro-Palestinian activists that their off-campus house had been searched by law enforcement officers four days earlier. The story included a quote from the University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Public Safety confirming that a search warrant had been executed at an off-campus location on that date. 

The same day the article was published, an editor for the independent student newspaper submitted two public records requests — one to the Philadelphia Law Department and one to the Philadelphia Police Department — each requesting “a copy of a search warrant which was executed by the PPD, in conjunction with Penn Police, on the morning of Friday 10/18.” 

A Daily Pennsylvanian reporter later learned that the warrant had not been filed with the Philadelphia Criminal Court Office of Judicial Records, as is required under Pennsylvania law. A PPD official told the independent student newspaper that it was the responsibility of the University of Pennsylvania Police Department to file the warrant with the court. However, in response to an inquiry from an attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which The Daily Pennsylvanian is a member, the UPPD said that it is the PPD that bears the responsibility of filing the warrant with the court system.

On Nov. 27, 2024, the Philadelphia Law Department denied The Daily Pennsylvanian’s public records requests, stating that “judicially approved search warrants are considered records of the judiciary, which are not accessible through Right to Know requests to the City.”

The Daily Pennsylvanian, represented by Reporters Committee Local Legal Initiative Attorney Paula Knudsen Burke, then filed this complaint asking the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas to order the city to deposit the warrant with the Office of Judicial Records and provide a copy to the student newspaper.

Quote: “As the independent student newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania, The Daily Pennsylvanian is responsible for reporting on events on and around Penn’s campus,” The Daily Pennsylvanian said in a statement from the news organization’s president, Molly Cohen, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania. “The DP’s student journalists are seeking access to this warrant to support our reporting efforts.”

Filings: 

2024-11-27: Complaint