• by Ray Schultz , February 19, 2025

A Mississippi court has ordered a local newspaper to remove an editorial critical of public officials, raising a clear First Amendment issue. 

Chancellor Crystal Wise Martin, of the Chancery Court of Hinds County, issued a temporary restraining order against the Clarksdale Press Register, ordering that it must “remove the editorial, ‘Secrecy and Deception Erode Public Trust,’ from their online portals and make it inaccessible.” 

A hearing has been scheduled for February 27, but the case and the temporary restraining order have yet to be argued. 

The City of Clarksdale had filed a libel suit over the editorial, which said the public had not been notified about a meeting on a tax resolution. 

The city’s attorney argued that the hearing was open to the public and could be streamed online, News Channel 3, WREG, reports. 

Martin wrote that the petition for the temporary restraining order was “Well taken.”

The injury in this case, Martin said, is “defamation of public figures through actual malice in reckless disregard of the truth.” 

However, it is unusual for such an order to be issued before the case is even tried. 

The newspaper had not responded to a request for comment at deadline.