MLK50: Justice Through Journalism v. Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee
Case Number: CH-25-1700
Court: Shelby County Chancery Court
Clients: MLK50: Justice through Journalism, Memphis Fourth Estate, Memphis Publishing, and Nexstar Media Group.
Background: In Tennessee, rules that govern access to the state’s juvenile courts state that proceedings involving children accused of committing crimes or other offenses are presumptively “open to the public.” The rules and case law make clear that these proceedings can only be closed after a court has balanced the interests of the parties and the public’s “compelling interest” in open proceedings and ensured that closure is no broader than necessary. The rules also require that the court consider reasonable alternatives to closure and make written findings to support the closure.
But the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, has adopted and enforced a policy that makes juvenile delinquency proceedings presumptively closed by requiring members of the public to request and obtain permission from the court up to 48 hours in advance to attend any of these proceedings. The policy requires requesters to specifically name the juvenile whose hearing they want to attend.
In February 2025, Paul McAdoo, the Reporters Committee’s Local Legal Initiative attorney for Tennessee, sent a letter on behalf of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism urging Judge Tarik B. Sugarmon to reconsider the policy, arguing that it violated the juvenile court rules and was impeding news coverage of proceedings. Judge Sugarmon and another court official responded that they would maintain the policy and have continued to do so even after McAdoo sent a letter in March that again urged them to stop enforcing it.
In November 2025, McAdoo filed this lawsuit on behalf of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, Memphis Fourth Estate, Memphis Publishing, and Nexstar Media Group.
The lawsuit — filed against the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, and its Judge Sugarmon, in his official capacity — argues that the press and the public have a rule-based presumptive right of access to juvenile delinquency proceedings. It asks the court to declare that the advance permission policy is illegal and block its enforcement.
Quote: “In Tennessee, court rules are clear that juvenile delinquency proceedings should be open by default,” McAdoo said. “In Shelby County, however, the juvenile court has put in place a requirement that shuts the door on reporters who are there to attend delinquency proceedings. This unlawful policy deprives the public of timely, accurate information about how the court is handling the cases that come before it, particularly at a time when Shelby County is incarcerating more children than in recent years.”
Related: In June 2025, McAdoo successfully represented WBIR in a fight for public access to a 15-year-old’s murder prosecution in Meigs County Juvenile Court. WBIR used the unsealed records and a video of the previously closed proceeding to shed new light on the case.
Filings:
2025-11-10: Complaint
2025-11-10: Motion for temporary injunction
2025-11-10: Memorandum of law in support of motion for temporary injunction