TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 24, 2023

A federal judge in Nashville has granted a preliminary injunction ordering Tennessee’s Judicial Advisory Commission to open its meetings to the public, Chattanoogan.com reports. Dan McCaleb, executive editor of the online news organization The Center Square, filed a suit last year to open the meetings. He argued that the First Amendment right of press access to government meetings applies to the commission’s meetings, which had been closed to the public and press. In the ruling, Judge Eli Richardson wrote that the Administrative Office of the Courts must open the meetings to the public either by livestreaming or by allowing in-person attendance. The Tennessee Supreme Court established the commission to recommend court rules of practice and procedure.