Out of more than 200 cases heard by the SJC last year, only 38 were selected by the court to bypass appellate review, according to a court spokeswoman.

The Crimson’s lawsuit has attracted the attention of other college newspapers, including the Boston College Heights and the Brown Daily Herald, as well as several journalism associations. In total, seven such groups filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of The Crimson’s position.

“If the SJC sided with Harvard, it would be a blow to our mission as college journalists,” said Ryan Heffernan, editor-in-chief of the Boston College Heights. “It impairs our ability to report news and creates a hazardous situation for students.”

Like Harvard, Boston College operates a private police department in close proximity to a public force. Even though the private force has specific jurisdiction over Boston College, as HUPD does over Harvard, Heffernan said that his paper was more likely to call the Boston Police Department when reporting a crime, “because we don’t have to jump through hoops” to get reports.

The eventual decision of the SJC could affect private police forces at colleges and universities across the state.

Although legislation is pending that would require private police forces to release incident reports, there is no direct precedent in Massachusetts for either side’s position (please see story, page A1).

When Harvard and The Crimson argue in front of the SJC later this year, they will face a court with close ties to Harvard. Four of the seven justices—Roderick L. Ireland, Judith A. Cowan, Robert J. Cordy, and chief justice Margaret H. Marshall—graduated from Harvard Law School.

In addition, Marshall was Harvard’s General Counsel and Vice President until 1996.

Marshall will likely excuse herself from the case, according to Leonard M. Singer, a lawyer for several of the groups that support The Crimson.

—Staff writer Brendan R. Linn can be reached at blinn@fas.harvard.edu.