The next quarterly meeting of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Advisory Commission will take place at 9 A.M. Central Time, on Friday, December 8th. The virtual event will be livestreamed, in compliance with a federal court order and preliminary injunction requiring state judicial officials and attorneys to allow the press and public access to these rulemaking meetings.
This court order is the result of the Liberty Justice Center’s case McCaleb v. Long. The Liberty Justice Center represents Dan McCaleb, the Executive Editor of the Center Square, an online news organization that focuses on state and local government issues.
Before the Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit, the Advisory Commission closed its rulemaking meetings to the public and press—even though their federal counterparts opened their meetings to the public nearly 35 years ago and these taxpayer-funded meetings can affect the lives of all Tennesseans.
The Liberty Justice Center filed a First Amendment right of public access complaint in June of 2022 and sought a preliminary injunction to require the Advisory Commission to reopen their rulemaking meetings to the public. In March 2023, the Court granted the preliminary injunction, enabling Tennesseans and members of the press open access to these rulemaking meetings.
WHEN: 9 A.M. Central Time, Friday, December 8th
WHERE: The virtual event will be available through Zoom and will also be livestreamed here on the Tennessee Court’s secondary YouTube channel, TNCourts2.
Instructions for joining the Zoom meeting are available here: Tennessee Courts Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure | December 8, 2023
ISSUE BACKGROUND: McCaleb v. Long was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville on June 13, 2022.
The Liberty Justice Center’s case filings are available here.