Spanier, Curley & Schultz Limit Testimony in McQueary Lawsuit

Three former Penn State administrators have won their bid to keep certain testimony out of the courtroom in Mike McQueary’s whistleblower lawsuit against the university.

Former Penn State president Graham Spanier, alongside former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley, asked the court last week to keep former university general counsel Cynthia Baldwin from testifying about the three men as part of McQueary’s lawsuit.

Through a judge’s order signed the next day, that request has been granted. Baldwin will not be permitted to testify about her communications with the trio of former administrators, not will she be allowed to speak about their grand jury testimonies in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

McQueary, a former Penn State assistant football coach, served as an important witness against Sandusky. When his employment contract wasn’t renewed afterwards, McQueary launched his lawsuit, alleging he was fired for his involvement in the Sandusky investigation.

Spanier, Schultz and Curley are not party to the McQueary lawsuit, but are embroiled in a legal battle of their own. The three men face criminal charges in Dauphin County for allegedly conspiring to cover up the Sandusky scandal, though all three maintain their innocence.

The three former Penn State leaders have been fighting tooth and nail to keep Baldwin’s testimony out of their criminal cases with limited success. A judge has ruled that Baldwin will be allowed to openly testify, but Spanier, Curley and Schultz are appealing that decision.

Spanier, Curley and Schultz say Baldwin represented them as individuals when they appeared before a grand jury to testify about Sandusky — meaning it would violate their right to attorney-client privilege if Baldwin testifies against them. Baldwin, on the other hand, says she was representing Penn State as an institution, so no individual right to privilege actually exists.

So far, judges have been split on how to handle this issue. Although the Dauphin County judge ruled against the Spanier, Curley and Schultz, the judge hearing the McQueary suit has ruled in their favor — leaving the fate of their pending appeal up in the air.

No trial date has been set in the criminal cases for Spanier, Curley and Schultz.