DENVER (CN) - A Utah political journalist asked on Tuesday to revive his lawsuit against the chiefs of staff for the Utah Senate and House of Representatives, who he says denied his application for press credentials after he launched his own publication and made jokes on social media at their expense.
"Speech restrictions based on the identity of the speaker are all too often a means of controlling content," Charles Miller, an attorney for the Institute for Free Speech representing Utah journalist Bryan Schott, argued to the 10th Circuit panel.
For more than two decades, Schott worked as a political journalist and obtained legislative credentials as a reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune.
However, when he launched his own newsletter and website, Utah Political Watch, the Legislature's media liaison rejected his application for the 2025 legislative session, citing a policy that limited access to "established reputable news organizations."
Believing he was facing retaliation for recent criticisms of staffers and the senate president, Schott sued the chiefs of staff for both chambers of the Utah legislature as well as the media liaison on Jan. 22, 2025. A lower court declined to grant Schott a temporary restraining order then dismissed the issue as moot in September. Schott appealed, arguing the policy to deny "independent media" press credentials gave the government too much power in controlling information.
While legislative hearings are open to the public, media credentials at the Utah legislature grant reporters access to parking spaces, a press room and internet, as well as a press releases and conferences with lawmakers.
Miller said Schott wasn't suing over parking spaces - after all, there are only six for 140 credentialed media - but because he was denied access given to 20 other outlets, including a housing policy blog and a content aggregator.
"When you get that much discretion it creates the opportunity for prior restraint, the idea that was don't like them, so we're not going to credential them," Miller argued. "What they're really doing is viewpoint discrimination."
In addition to citing the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, which expanded free speech rights to corporations, Miller wished the court a Happy St. Patrick's Day with a reference to the 1995 case Hurley v. Irish American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, which supports group autonomy over the messages they deliver to the public.
On behalf of the staffers, attorney Daniel Vitagliano argued the Legislature's policy focused on publications rather than individual reporters, echoing a policy used by the White House to grant media access.
"Part of it is being established and reputable," Vitagliano, who practices with Consovoy McCarthy in Salt Lake City, said. "Whether there's editorial oversight, whether there's an institutional framework. Mr. Schott is responsible for nobody but himself."
U.S. Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich quizzed Vitagliano on why Utah Political Watch was deemed irreputable.
"His work isn't any different from when he was at the Tribune," the George W. Bush appointee said. "The fact that he doesn't have an editor makes his news organization ineligible for this credential and 'credentials may be denied or revoked for any reason,' that seems like a bit of a red flag here."
Still, Vitagliano stood by Utah's policy.
"Nothing was done here to target Mr. Schott," Vitagliano said. "The First Amendment right to newsgathering extends to sources of information that are available to the public generally, and he has access to that."
Bill Clinton-appointed Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Michael Murphy and Barack Obama-appointed U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Bacharach rounded out the panel. The court did not indicate when or how it would decide the case.
Source: Courthouse News Service
