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The judge's order had been widely condemned by free speech
advocates as a clear violation of the paper's First Amendment
rights.
Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin had issued the restraining
order against the Clarksdale Press Register last week, telling
it to remove from its website a Feb. 8 editorial titled
“Secrecy, Deception Erode Public Trust.” The piece criticized
the city for not sending the newspaper notice about a meeting
the board held regarding a proposed tax on alcohol, marijuana
and tobacco.
The board of commissioners dropped the suit Monday at the
request of Mayor Chuck Espy, who cited an offer from the paper's
owner to run a clarification. However, Emmerich Newspapers
president Wyatt Emmerich said he made that offer before the city
filed its lawsuit and that it was no longer on the table.
Emmerich had offered to clarify that the council said the lack
of notification wasn’t a deliberate attempt to hide the meeting,
according to a text message Emmerich sent to the city attorney.
The text also offered to clarify that a sentence questioning
whether there was “kick-back from the community” should have
said “push back.”
The city’s lawsuit called the editorial libelous and said it
“chilled and hindered” the city’s efforts to lobby for the tax
with state legislators. The newspaper and other critics of the
ruling said the order was a clear example of prior restraint in
violation of the First Amendment.
The order drew widespread criticism from press groups and free
speech advocates around the country, including the National
Press Club and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression had agreed
to represent the newspaper in court.
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