Background
Bryan Schott, a professional journalist, founded Utah Political Watch after leaving a major newspaper. The Utah Legislature denied his media credential application because his new organization was classified as a blog or independent media. Schott alleged the denial was retaliation for his critical reporting and that the policy was applied inconsistently to other independent outlets.
The court’s reasoning
The court determined that the credentialing policy created either a limited public or nonpublic forum where the government must remain viewpoint neutral. It found the district court incorrectly applied precedent regarding newsgathering rights. The court concluded that Schott’s allegations, including legislative officials’ criticism of his reporting and inconsistent application of the policy, plausibly showed the denial was motivated by his viewpoint.
We conclude that Schott’s well-pleaded factual allegations are sufficient to show the Legislature plausibly discriminated against him because of his viewpoints.
What it means going forward
The case is remanded to the district court to address whether the policy is facially viewpoint-based and to consider the as-applied claim on its merits.