Lawsuit: Tennessee courts violated First Amendment in restricting access to annual meetings

Mariah Timms, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

A Chicago-based news outlet sued the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts over access to judges' annual meetings.

Dan McCaleb, executive editor of online publication, The Center Square, sued the state agency Monday in federal court. The outlet regularly covers statehouse and courts news in Tennessee.

McCaleb argues closing the meetings to the media and the public is a violation of the First Amendment and limits necessary transparency around the state court rulemaking process.

The Tennessee Supreme Court building: The building was completed in 1937 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It is used by the Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals, and is home to a museum of state court history. Source: https://www.tn.gov/museum
The Tennessee Supreme Court building: The building was completed in 1937 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It is used by the Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals, and is home to a museum of state court history. Source: https://www.tn.gov/museum

The annual judicial conference sets rules on official conduct and judicial ethics. Judges, retired and active, and their staff can also attend ongoing legal education classes at the conferences, according to the office's website.

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Access at the federal level to Judicial Conference meetings "has played a significant and positive role in the rulemaking process regarding federal court policy," the new suit argues.

McCaleb sued over a 2021 update to the rules of the conference that states high levels of confidentiality are required for safety and security reasons of attendees. He argues sharing webcast links in no way undermines physical safety.

He's represented by The Liberty Justice Center, a Chicago-based conservative law firm that regularly takes on Middle Tennessee cases. They've joined the ongoing battle over school voucher programs that have pitted Nashville and Shelby County against the state for years.

State Sen. Brian Kelsey, a managing attorney in the firm, has led arguments in that case, even has he faces a federal indictment over alleged misuse of campaign funds.

McCaleb is represented by M. E. Buck Dougherty III and James McQuaid, both from the firm.

“Freedom of the press is fundamental to our democracy and blocking reporters from covering judicial proceedings is illegal,” Dougherty said in a release on the suit.

A request for comment sent to the Administrative Office of the Courts was not immediately returned.

McCaleb v. Long by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Chicago news outlet sues Tennessee courts over First Amendment access