Albert Einstein said common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age 18, which, in this case, is not Jeremy Beckham's fault.
    The college freshman would not have to make assumptions about the treatment of monkeys in scientific experiments if the University of Utah would release the documents he has requested.
    That was one of several arguments Beckham, an animal rights activist, used Thursday to persuade the state records committee that research proposals are public documents. Citing state statutes and research documents obtained from other universities, the wannabe biologist schooled the university's attorney in open-records law.
    Afterward, the panel instructed the U. to hand over the records minus confidential information that could jeopardize the safety of scientists and the proprietary nature of their work. Beckham's mom, also an animal rights activist, videotaped the victory. But the committee left it to the university to decide what information to redact -- and how much Beckham should pay for the process -- which is why he isn't exactly celebrating.
    "What I'm really worried about," Beckham said after the hearing, "is that I'm going to have to pay a couple hundred dollars to get a few pages of black magic marker."
    And that's if he's lucky.
    The committee's legal adviser, Mark Burns, said the university may have to hire a patent lawyer to distinguish between what is public and what is proprietary -- and send the bill to Beckham.
    Burns also suggested that, under state law, the committee could deny Beckham's request if the alterations make the documents "unintelligible."
    The records Beckham seeks, called protocols, would say whether scientists bolt baboons' heads to restraint chairs and whether macaques are conscious during surgery. But they also specify the use of experimental drugs and procedures that, if made public, could alert competitors and allow them to copy the U.'s ideas.
    U. attorney Phyllis Vetter told the committee that the issue was one of timing. Most of the information Beckham is seeking will be made public once the research is published. The process of redaction "is too great a burden" for the school to endure, she said.
    "People aren't just sitting around at the university waiting for records requests," she said.
    Jack Taylor, who oversees the university's research labs, said that prematurely releasing the names of researchers "sets them up for some kind of harassment." He said one U. researcher bought a gun after protesters showed up at his house.
    But records committee members agreed that such information could be easily removed. They were a little less sure about dealing with sensitive research materials. At least one member questioned the university's claims that censoring the documents would leave them devoid of information.
    Betsy Ross, the state auditor's designee on the committee, said the university should use as guidelines protocols from Columbia University in New York City and the University of California at San Francisco.
    Vetter said the university will wait to see the official order from the records panel before it decides whether to comply or appeal the decision to state district court.
    Brian Barnard, a Salt Lake City attorney who specializes in freedom-of-speech and open-records cases, said determining what is and isn't proprietary information isn't exactly E=MCÛ. And the records committee, not the university, should make the call. them devoid of information.
    "It's a hollow victory," Barnard said, "when they say you can have the records, but the university gets to decide what you get."
    lfantin@sltrib.com