In a victory for transparency that we should all hopes sticks, an advisory commission that recommends court rules on practices and procedures has started holding meetings open to the public. The open meetings are the result of a federal lawsuit and an order by the judge that said the First Amendment right of access to court proceedings likely requires the meetings to be open.
A federal judge in Nashville ruled that the press and the public likely have a First Amendment right of access to meetings of a court rules commission that recommends rules of procedure and practice for all Tennessee courts. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson ordered that the meetings no longer be closed, and said opening the meetings will create public confidence and transparency, and likely result in better rules.
A federal judge declined on Tuesday to issue a temporary restraining order requested by a media organization that wanted to cover the Tennessee Judicial Conference annual meeting after getting assurances from a deputy attorney general that the meeting to take place on Wednesday was only an educational "CLE for judges."
A national news organization with operations in Tennessee has filed a federal lawsuit against the director of Tennessee's court administration, claiming the blanket closure of upcoming judicial conference meetings violates First Amendment rights of access to courts.
