The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear a case from the Nashville Banner appealing the sealing of court documents related to the competency of longtime Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors have long been concerned about Blackburn’s performance following a stroke she had in 2021. Throughout a five-day murder trial in June that the Banner attended, Blackburn stumbled over her words, misspoke and appeared to fall asleep multiple times. But when the Banner attempted to unseal a motion filed by a defense attorney in a criminal trial that made specific allegations about Blackburn’s competency, the publication was denied by Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton despite no opposition from the state or defense attorneys. The Tennessee Court of Appeals later narrowly upheld Dalton’s ruling.
“The trial court clerk shall file the record on appeal within thirty days from the date of entry of this order,” reads the Supreme Court’s order, entered on Thursday. “The record on appeal shall include any filings and hearing transcripts regarding the motion to disqualify Judge Cheryl Blackburn and the Nashville Banner’s motion to intervene and to unseal records.”
This is only the third media case the Supreme Court has taken up in the past 10 years.
Banner Editor Steve Cavendish was grateful for the court’s decision to hear the case.
“Our courts have credibility when they are open and transparent,” he said. “When judges ignore the rules and then seal files that could be critical of their performance, it creates the appearance of a cover-up. Transparency is always the answer for creating public trust in our institutions.”
Like other government entities, the courts are public. That means that court proceedings must be open to the public and the documents they produce must also be accessible. As with any laws surrounding public and open government, there are exceptions. But those exceptions are strict.
When a judge does have a valid reason to seal documents in a case, they must enter a written order explaining why they are sealing that document and cite case law to back it up.
However, as reported by Banner in June, Davidson County Criminal Court judges have been shirking that responsibility. Not only has the Banner confirmed multiple cases and case documents being sealed without the filing of an order, but in Davidson County, the sealing of a document in a criminal court case means the public may never be aware that the document existed in the first place.
When Blackburn sealed the documents related to her own health, she did not file a written order.
“What legal standard and standard of review should apply to a motion to unseal records when no initial sealing order was filed?” the Supreme Court asks in their order.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and the Tennessee Press Association have all filed a brief supporting the Banner’s motion to unseal documents.