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A Guilford County district court judge who seized a former News & Record reporter’s notes and issued a gag order is still obstructing efforts to challenge her rulings, according to a petition filed with the N.C. Court of Appeals.
Mike Tadych, who represents reporter Kenwyn Caranna and the newspaper, filed the petition on April 23. This is the second time he has asked the Court of Appeals to intervene in the case. (Tadych also represents The Assembly.)
In his latest petition, Tadych said Guilford County District Court Judge Ashley Watlington-Simms is doing everything she can to block efforts to appeal her rulings, and that includes preventing him from accessing transcripts or audio recordings of two separate hearings dealing with the gag order.
The legal fight began on July 28, 2023 when Caranna, then a reporter for the News & Record, spent the day observing juvenile court proceedings for a story. Nine cases were called that day. Under state law, court proceedings, including those involving juveniles, are open to the public unless a judge closes the courtroom.
Neither Watlington-Simms nor any other court official asked Caranna to leave. The judge closed the courtroom for one case, during which Caranna left with everyone else. She returned when Watlington-Simms opened the courtroom back up, and said in an affidavit that she was never told she couldn’t take notes.
But later that afternoon, Watlington-Simms noticed Caranna and asked her to identify herself. Caranna did so, telling the judge she was there monitoring the proceedings for a future story. After consulting with then-Chief District Judge Teresa Vincent, Watlington-Simms ordered bailiffs to seize Caranna’s notes and issued a gag order.
In doing so, Watlington-Simms likely ran afoul of two state laws, and legal experts said she violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s prohibition against prior restraint, or the suppression of information a news organization has obtained.
Caranna and the News & Record appealed. But the litigation has been stuck in a bizarre byzantine limbo.
Tadych tried to obtain audio recordings of the hearing to dispel factual disputes in any motion he filed seeking to vacate the judge’s gag order and get Caranna’s notes back. At a hearing in July 2024, however, Watlington-Simms denied Tadych’s request.
When Tadych tried to obtain the transcript of that hearing, he also ran into obstacles, according to a petition he filed with the N.C. Court of Appeals. The appeals court ordered Guilford County court officials to act on a pending motion Tadych filed that asked for more time to obtain the transcript. According to Tadych’s new petition, Watlington-Simms denied that request, arguing that Tadych had failed to follow the proper procedures when filing that motion.
Tadych is now asking the appeals court to order Guilford County court officials to turn over the transcripts from the two hearings, rescind Watlington-Simms’ gag order, and return Caranna’s notes.
Tadych declined to comment on pending litigation and Watlington-Simms did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.