MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star
Kansas City Star Editorial
A Jackson County judge’s ruling in a lawsuit involving an alleged pedophile priest is harmful and wrong.
By decreeing that a victim’s advocacy group must turn over thousands of emails to the attorneys of accused priest Rev. Michael Tierney, Circuit Judge Ann Mesle has compounded the damages borne by sexual abuse victims. Her ruling will serve to intimidate potential whistleblowers and discourage victims from coming forward with new allegations. Also, it chills the constitutionally protected right of journalists to gather information.
Mesle’s ruling potentially allows the perusal of decades worth of emails to and from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. Tierney’s attorneys allege that the plaintiff’s attorney violated a gag order issued by Mesle by contacting SNAP.
Attempts to review decades of emails to and from people not even involved in Tierney’s case makes this look more like a fishing expedition than a legitimate need to build a defense. The Missouri Press Association makes this point in an amicus brief. Kansas City attorney Jean Maneke says of Mesle’s order: “It would chill future news gathering. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that news gathering is protected under the First Amendment.”
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