C. Court mandated opening, closing.

Exemptions to the FOIA can be created only by statute. Accordingly, the courts are not free to fashion their own exemptions via the common law. Laman v. McCord, 245 Ark. 401, 432 S.W.2d 753. However, a court may presumably order that a meeting be closed in order to protect an individual’s constitutional right to privacy. See McCambridge v. City of Little Rock, 298 Ark. 219, 766 S.W.2d 909 (1989). This right is not absolute and must at times yield to societal interests in disclosure. Ark. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 96-009. See also Ark. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 87-478 (student’s right to privacy not violated by public hearing).