Update: Just before 3:30 p.m., the University of Michigan released a statement saying that Jim Harbaugh was accepting the three-game suspension and the litigation between Harbaugh, the university and the Big Ten was being resolved. The hearing is now canceled.
Original story below.
A Washtenaw County judge will not allow cameras in the courtroom during a hearing Friday over Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh's suspension by the Big Ten.
WXYZ had asked for permission to have a camera in the courtroom and livestream the hearing under Michigan law, but the judge, Hon. Timothy P. Connors, blocked cameras from being inside. We do plan to have a reporter in the hearing.
We also asked the court for an explanation why we aren't allowed to bring a camera inside the hearing, but have not yet heard back.
It's scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday in Washtenaw County Trial Court and Harbaugh is expected to testify in the hearing.
Connors has been a state court judge since 1991 and served as Chief Judge in Washtenaw County for 11 years. Connors is also a lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School.
Under Michigan law, media coverage "shall be allowed upon request in all court proceedings."
However, the law also says, "A judge may terminate, suspend, limit, or exclude film or electronic media coverage at any time upon a finding, made and articulated on the record in the exercise of discretion, that the fair administration of justice requires such action, or that rules established under this order or additional rules imposed by the judge have been violated," and the judge can exclude coverage of certain witnesses.
WXYZ is one of several media outlets that filed requests to film, including WDIV, The Detroit News, WWJ, WWMT, The Ann Arbor News and The Detroit News. The Detroit Free Press also filed a motion to permit cameras access pursuit to Administrative Order 1989-1.
The university is seeking a temporary restraining order against the Big Ten and Commissioner Tony Petitti after the conference suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season last week. They say he conducted "an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years."
Speaking earlier this week, Harbaugh said he's looking for due process in the hearing.
"I'm not looking for special treatment. I'm not looking for a popularity contest. I'm just looking for the merit for what the case is," Harbaugh said.
The university accused the conference of rushing to judgment in the suspension over the sign-stealing allegations against former staffer Connor Stalions.
Petitti responded to a letter from the university last week saying: "... the University’s November 8 response does not deny that the impermissible scheme occurred. Instead, it offers only procedural and technical arguments designed to delay accountability. The University also argues that because it believes that others are engaged in decoding signs, there must be nothing wrong with the University’s activities. In addition to impermissible activities of others being currently unsupported by facts, the University’s culpability is not dependent on the actions of other institutions."
Michigan released a statement after the suspension was announced saying in part, "Like all members of the Big Ten Conference, we are entitled to a fair, deliberate, and thoughtful process to determine the full set of facts before a judgment is rendered. Today’s action by Commissioner Tony Petitti disregards the Conference's own handbook, violates basic tenets of due process, and sets an untenable precedent of assessing penalties before an investigation has been completed. We are dismayed at the Commissioner's rush to judgment when there is an ongoing NCAA investigation – one in which we are fully cooperating."
