Iowa justice blocks newspaper from reporting court records
IOWA CITY, Iowa — An Iowa Supreme Court justice has taken the unusual step of temporarily ordering the state’s largest newspaper not to publish the contents of court records legally obtained by one of its reporters.
Press freedom advocates protested the order against the Des Moines Register and investigative reporter Clark Kauffman, and called on the full court Friday to immediately lift the stay.
The Iowa Freedom of Information Council, which represents media organizations and advocates for government transparency, called the action by Justice David Wiggins “extraordinary and very troubling.”
“We are hopeful the entire Supreme Court will quickly conclude that Justice Wiggins’ order goes too far and is an impermissible prior restraint on a free press,” said executive director Randy Evans.