State of Tennessee v. Randall C. Johnson

Summary

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that media intervenors may seek extraordinary appellate review under Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 10 when judicial proceedings are closed or judicial records are sealed. It further held that sealing judicial records protected by the First Amendment right of access requires a written order identifying a compelling interest and narrowly tailoring the seal. The Court reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals and ordered the records at issue to be made available to the public.

Holdings

1. Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 10 review is available to media intervenors in criminal matters when judicial proceedings are closed or judicial records are sealed, notwithstanding Rule 10(e)'s reference to the State and the defendant.
2. A court clerk has no authority to seal judicial records except as directed by the judge of the court, and a party's request or notation that a document is filed under seal is not effective to seal the record.
3. To seal a motion for disqualification and supporting documents protected by the First Amendment right of access, a court must identify and describe a compelling interest that necessitates sealing, articulate specific supporting facts, consider reasonable alternatives, and narrowly tailor the seal to what is necessary.
4. The three documents must be unsealed because the record does not establish a compelling interest that overcomes the presumption of openness.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 10 permits a media intervenor to seek an extraordinary or interlocutory appeal from the sealing of judicial records in a criminal case.
2. Whether a clerk may seal judicial records without a written judicial order containing findings justifying the seal.
3. What standard applies to sealing documents filed in connection with a judicial-disqualification proceeding protected by the First Amendment right of access.
4. Whether the record established a sufficient interest to keep the three documents sealed.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded