(The Center Square) – A lawyer is declaring victory after a U.S. District Court changed rules that barred him from speaking to the public about his cases against a private prison company.
Daniel Horwitz is representing several inmates and their families in lawsuits against CoreCivic, which operates four private prisons in Tennessee. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee ordered Horwitz to stop talking to the media and making social media posts about the case in 2022, according to the Institute for Justice, which represented Horwitz with the Southeastern Legal Foundation.
Horwitz sued the court and the District Court dismissed the case. In April, the court asked for public comment on amending the rules. The court decided to scrap the rules after the Institute for Justice sent a public comment saying they were unconstitutional, the legal organization said in a release.
“I’m thrilled that my First Amendment rights have been vindicated, but more importantly, I’m thrilled that I can resume informing the public about civil rights abuses across Middle Tennessee,” Horowitz said.
Most federal courts do not have rules restricting attorneys’ public discussion of their cases, according to the Institute of Justice.
“Discussing cases with the media and public is a huge part of public interest litigation, including the work that we do here at IJ,” said IJ President and Chief Counsel Scott Bullock. “This case showed the importance of being able to talk with the public, because the judges ultimately changed the rule due to public comment.”
Ryan Gustin, CoreCivic’s senior public affairs director, said in a statement to The Center Square, “We respect the judicial process in which amendments to local rules are reviewed and modified. We also stand by our belief that matters involving litigation, and legal rules, policies and procedures should be decided within the court system and not in the press or social media.”
Horwitz’s lawsuits against CoreCivic are continuing in federal court. The latest case was filed in April on behalf of the wife of an inmate stabbed to death on Dec. 6 at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility. The lawsuit accused CoreCivic of chronically understaffing the facility, which led to the death of Clay Andrews.
