(The Tennessee Star)—The Liberty Justice Center is continuing its fight against the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts in a case seeking for all rulemaking meetings of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Judicial Advisory Commission to be open to the public and press.
In 2018, the Advisory Commission closed its quarterly rulemaking meetings to the public and press, which the Liberty Justice Center argues violates the press’ and public’s First Amendment right of access.
Four years later, in June 2022, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dan McCaleb, journalist and Executive Editor of The Center Square, seeking for the Advisory Commission’s rulemaking meetings to be made public again.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee issued a preliminary order in March 2023 that required the Advisory Commission to open its meetings while the case, McCaleb v. Long, played out in court.
At the time the district court issued the order, it ruled that opening the meetings “not only creates transparency and public confidence, it likely creates better rules.”
However, in November 2024, the district court reversed course and dismissed the case, ruling that because the Advisory Commission had closed its rulemaking meetings, their contents were not public information and therefore not subject to the First Amendment’s right of access.
Last week, the Liberty Justice Center filed an opening brief with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the court to overturn the district court’s decision to dismiss the case and find that the press and public have a First Amendment right to access the Advisory Commission’s meetings.
Jacob Huebert, President of the Liberty Justice Center and attorney for McCaleb, said he is “hopeful” that the appeals court will rule in the plaintiffs’ favor.
“The First Amendment protects the public’s right to access meetings of bodies like Tennessee’s Judicial Advisory Commission so they can write and speak about what their government is doing,” Huebert said.
“We’re hopeful the Sixth Circuit will recognize that and restore the rights of our client, all journalists, and all Tennesseans,” Huebert added.