Judge lifts order restraining publication of custody story
| NMU | UTAH | Prior Restraints | Jun 24, 2002 |
Judge lifts order restraining publication of custody story
- An Ogden judge issued a statement retracting his in-court order that barred a reporter from publishing a story on a state child-custody case.
Deeming the restraining order he handed a reporter “only an admonition from the bench,” Ogden Juvenile Court Judge L. Kent Bachman withdrew the restraint June 21.
The original order, issued June 4 to the Ogden Standard-Examiner, was never formally documented, aside from in court transcripts. The repeal came two days after the Standard-Examiner said it would pursue legal action against the court’s order, which editors said was unnecessary and unconstitutional.
Reporter Cheryl Buchta was working with a child’s mother about possibly publishing a story about her custody case, but had signed a confidentiality agreement not to publish any personal information. At the time the judge barred its publication, the paper did not intend to run the story.
The reporter still does not have source permission to print the story, but the judge, in last week’s statement, now says he ”would not oppose [the Standard-Examiner] printing the story.”
— CL
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