Riley v. Gibson

Opinion of the Court by Justice NOBLE.

Appellants, Jason Riley and the Courier-Journal, Inc., appeal the Court of Appeals’ denial of a writ of mandamus or prohibition requiring media access to a juror contempt hearing. Because a right of access does extend to criminal contempt hearings, the Court of Appeals is reversed.

I. Background

This case arises out of a hearing held by Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Susan Schultz Gibson to address a juror’s alleged disobedience of the court’s admonition to avoid publicity about the case. Immediately after the verdict had been issued, two jurors alleged that…