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Victory for Open Govt.

Published: October 19, 2007
Last Updated: October 19, 2007

Source:

Oct. 18, 2007
Contact: Cynthia Moxley, Moxley Carmichael, 865-544-0088

Knox County in Tennessee is functioning today with only 11 of the regular 19 county commissioners because a crusading newspaper took Sunshine Law violations to court and won.

The Knoxville News Sentinel scored a solid victory for open government when it won the dramatic Sunshine Law suit against the Knox County Commission for selecting replacement commissioners out of the public view.

The chancellor in the case ruled that eight commissioners must be replaced in a meeting where business is conducted in public.

The ruling also voided commission appointments to four other county offices, including the sheriff and trustee.

The lawsuit victory was the centerpiece of a series of investigative articles in the News Sentinel this year disclosing numerous unethical and questionable practices by the commission and county administration.

In addition to the unprecedented jury decision, the News Sentinel’s coverage resulted in a huge public outcry against the abuses and led to citizens’ groups being organized to reform county government.

"Our hope is that this victory will be a source of support to reporters everywhere and a reminder to public officials that the desire of citizens for open government cannot be denied," said News Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy.

Here is how the story unfolded:

"BACKROOM DEALS" shouted the Knoxville News Sentinel’s banner headline on Feb. 1, 2007, with a six-column deck elaborating: "Mayor says public's faith 'shaken'/after political ploys fill 12 offices."

At issue was a special meeting of the Knox County Commission held on Jan. 31 to appoint a dozen replacements for top officeholders who had been forced out when the state Supreme Court ruled that term limits — long ignored in Knox County — did, indeed, apply.

The ruling threatened the core of the local government power structure and set off a mad scramble to maintain the patronage system that had dominated county politics for decades. A frenzy of deal-making ensued, capped by the Jan. 31 meeting, which was interrupted by frequent recesses so the ruling faction could retreat backstage to iron out last-minute bumps in its bid to retain, and expand, its power base.

The result: the appointees included one commissioner's son, one's wife, one's father, one's campaign treasurer and a bevy of other cronies, several of whom immediately turned around and hired the ousted politicians to taxpayer-funded jobs.

There was one hitch in the plan, however. In Tennessee, there's a law called the Open Meetings Act, drafted in the post-Watergate era by former News Sentinel editor Ralph Millett and other open government allies. Better known as the Sunshine Law, the act requires that local government bodies do all their decision-making in public.

According to McElroy, the County Commission had violated the act with impunity, and News Sentinel knew it had to stand up for the law or see it become meaningless. The Open Meetings Act requires that a citizen bring suit to enforce it, and on Feb. 5, in the name of editor McElroy, the newspaper sued the largest local government in its circulation area.

In the months that followed, the News Sentinel reported intensely on the results of what became known as the "Black Wednesday" meeting, revealing, for instance, that one appointee had dealt crack cocaine for a violent drug gang and another had precipitated a $250,000 sexual harassment judgment against his company.

The county law director tried to derail the suit through pre-trial motions, and he did manage to get a similar lawsuit by a group of citizens dismissed. But through the legal work of Richard Hollow, the News Sentinel's longtime counsel and himself an architect of the Open Meetings Act, the newspaper's case survived, and, ultimately, the parallel suit by citizens was resurrected and combined with the News Sentinel's.

Public support for the newspaper remained strong. "Don’t let up," was the most frequent of the thousands of e-mails, phone calls, Web postings and personal comments the newspaper staff received.

Jury selection began on Sept. 11, 2007, and the trial started the following day. Jurors heard 13 days of arguments and testimony that put dozens of public officials, candidates and journalists on the witness stand.

The verdict was to be no simple guilty or not guilty decision, however. Under the rules of Tennessee's Chancery Court, jurors were charged with answering 29 interrogatories. Then, based on those findings of fact, the chancellor would make the final judgment.

Still, it took the jury just four hours to complete deliberations and answer all 29 questions in favor the newspaper and the citizen plaintiffs.

"This is the first time in the history of Tennessee that a jury has been asked to sit in judgment of its government," said Hollow after the verdict. "It is a tremendous victory for the people of Tennessee."

Three days later, the chancellor presented his ruling. The 12 appointees were removed immediately from office, and the remaining county commissioners were ordered to begin the process from scratch, but this time in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.

"It is the hope of this Court," wrote the judge, "that this lengthy trial, the findings of fact by the jury and the conclusions of law by this Court will be instructive to the members of the Knox County Commission enabling them to effectively, efficiently and collegially, go about conducting the business of Knox County in public."

News Sentinel Publisher Bruce Hartmann said there never was a question that the newspaper would pursue the lawsuit.

"The principle of the public's right to know far outweighs any considerations of cost or criticism from elected officials," Hartmann said. "Jack, the newsroom staff, and our newspaper attorney all deserve the public's gratitude for this victory on behalf of open government."

The News Sentinel was the only media outlet to file suit against the commission.

Elected officials had attempted to use the argument that a quorum was not present and therefore there was no meeting.

"The McElroy decision is important because you have a judge and a jury rejecting the latest argument elected officials have invented to keep voters and taxpayers from seeing how they conduct the public’s business," said Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. "It sends a message to other governing bodies in Tennessee that the law is what is says, not what they think it says or what they want it to say for their own political convenience."

A few days after the jury decision and chancellor's ruling, a local sign maker, unsolicited, brought a banner to the News Sentinel. Making reference to the E.W. Scripps corporate lighthouse symbol, it read:

THANKS
The Light from the Lighthouse
Has brought Justice to Knox County
Citizens of Knox County

It hangs now in the newsroom above the conference table where the daily news meetings are held.