FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

Mississippi Judge Orders Local Newspaper to Delete Editorial

The Clarksdale Press Register was ordered to “remove” an editorial without a hearing.

A Mississippi judge ordered a local newspaper to delete an editorial criticizing city officials, the Independent reported. Chancery Court Judge Crystal Wise Martin ordered the Clarksdale Press Register to “remove” a Feb. 8 editorial titled “Secrecy, deception erode public trust” without a hearing on Tuesday after the city sued the newspaper for libel. “The injury in this case is defamation against public figures through actual malice in reckless disregard of the truth and interferes with their legitimate function to advocate for legislation they believe municipality through this current legislative cycle,” wrote Martin. First Amendment lawyers and press freedom advocates responded to the order as “wildly unconstitutional.” Lawyer Adam Steinbaugh wrote on X, “For one, *governments* can’t sue for libel. Full stop,” citing freedom of speech protections established by New York Times v. Sullivan. Clarksdale Mayor Chuck Espy applauded the judge’s order, writing in a Tuesday Facebook post, “Thank GOD! The City of Clarksdale WON today!” he wrote Tuesday. “The judge ruled in our favor that a newspaper cannot tell a malicious lie and not be held liable.”