A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a Utah reporter who accused the Legislature of improperly denying him credentials to cover the session earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby on Monday ruled against Bryan Schott, who runs the Utah Political Watch website. Schott, who previously worked at the Salt Lake Tribune, had sued claiming that denying him a press credential violated the First Amendment and was retaliation for his critical coverage of legislative leaders.
But Shelby rejected all of Schott’s claims, writing that the Legislature‘s media credentialing policy “does not regulate who may speak or what a reporter may or may not publish.”
“Any reporter has access to the legislative session and is not restricted in the content of any potential publication,” Shelby wrote. “A media credential permits access to the press room, workspaces in the Senate and House galleries, designated parking and press events with elected officials. However, members of the public have access to the chambers’ galleries and may observe committee meetings and legislative floor debates. Additionally, legislative agenda items and other materials are posted on the Legislature’s website, and all official legislative action is livestreamed and archived on the Legislature’s website.”
Attorneys for Schott filed a notice on Tuesday stating that they plan to appeal the dismissal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We are disappointed the judge ruled that the state is entitled to engage in viewpoint discrimination because, according to him, there is no right of the media to access materials and information the public cannot get,” Charles Miller, an attorney representing Schott, told KSL. “That isn’t the issue in this case. The state created several fora that are accessible only to credentialed media. It cannot engage in viewpoint discrimination when issuing credentials. We are confident the 10th Circuit will correct the district court’s blatant error.”
In a joint statement, spokeswomen for the Utah House and Senate said the court “affirmed there was no violation of the First Amendment, the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries were ‘trivial’ and ‘inadequate,’ and the policy relies on ‘commonly understood’ terms.” Aundrea Peterson, deputy chief of staff for the Utah Senate, and Alexa Musselman, director of strategic communications for the House, are both named plaintiffs in the case.
“The Utah Legislature will continue to be open and transparent, providing the public and media with livestreams, archives and access to hearings, floor debates and committee meetings,” their statement continued. “Our responsibility is to balance accessibility with security, ensuring that the legislative process functions effectively and remains accessible to all Utahns.”
Schott’s claims
Schott launched Utah Political Watch in late 2024, following the end of his employment with the Tribune. He applied for a press credential to cover the 2025 general legislative session, but was denied.
Schott accused the Legislature of five counts of infringing upon his First Amendment rights, saying the defendants denied his credentials based on his viewpoints, the content of his reporting and as retaliation for that reporting. He also claimed that the credentialing process to cover the legislative session is an unconstitutional use of prior restraint by the government and is “vague as to chill protected speech.”
“The press credential policy’s complete prohibition of credentialing ‘(b)logs, independent media or other freelance media,’ and its reservation of credentials to only those journalists that defendants deem to be from an ‘established reputable news organization,’ unconstitutionally discriminates against free speech and press on the basis of content and viewpoint on their face and as applied against plaintiffs,” Schott’s attorneys alleged in an amended lawsuit filed in February.
The complaint went on to say the Legislature had granted press credentials to “journalists with a similar editorial structure to (Utah Political Watch)” and claimed “Schott’s prior reporting on the Utah Legislature was a substantial and/or motivating factor” in the decision to update the credentialing policy regarding independent journalists.