State of Tennessee v. Johnson

Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Date Filed: Nov. 21, 2024

Background: In April 2024, the Nashville Banner moved to intervene in a criminal court case in Davidson County Criminal Court for the limited purpose of seeking to unseal three documents related to a trial judge’s decision to recuse herself from the case. The records were sealed despite the fact that neither party had moved to seal them and the court had never entered a sealing order.

While the trial court granted the Banner’s request to intervene, it denied the nonprofit news outlet’s request to unseal the three recusal documents, asserting that granting access to the records “would likely result in the publication of claims that (a) are currently insufficiently supported, (b) would annoy, embarrass, oppress, or create undue burdens for involved persons, (c) deny involved persons their rights to substantive, procedural, and administrative due process, and (d) delay court proceedings.”

The Banner sought review of the trial court’s order in the Court of Criminal Appeals, but the appeals court declined. The news outlet then filed an application asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to hear the case.

Our Position: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, joined by the Tennessee Coalition of Broadcasters, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, and the Tennessee Press Association, filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the state Supreme Court to grant the Banner’s application for review, arguing that the lower court’s decision is inconsistent with that Court’s precedent.

• Review is necessary to secure uniformity of judicial decisions regarding appealability of closure orders in criminal cases and to address that important question of law and public interest.

• Review is also needed to secure uniformity of decisions and to resolve an important question of law and public interest regarding the proper standard for sealing judicial records subject to the First Amendment right of access.

From the Brief: “The impact on the law and public of a decision in this case would be significant as it goes to the heart of the public’s ability to monitor the activities of the judicial branch of our government.”

Update: On Nov. 21, 2024, the Tennessee Supreme Court granted the Banner’s appeal.