Excerpts from Judge rejects Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers’ restraining order against reporter (read the full article at the link)

In a May 2023 Associated Press (AP) article by Terry Tanga, it was revealed that Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers had previously taken out a restraining order against reporter Camryn Sanchez, an action that was ultimately struck down. Rogers had sought to bar Sanchez from her desk in the Senate and even attempted to prevent her from knocking on the door to her home. Christopher Hennessy, the attorney representing Sanchez, criticized Rogers’ actions, stating, “What Sen. Rogers decided to do is take something that is intended to be a shield and turn it into a weapon.”

In the Currituck County case, the county attorney obtained a no-contact order against Blackwater Reports founder Thom Roddy. No-contact orders, similar to restraining orders in other jurisdictions, are a shield typically intended to protect victims of abuse, threats, stalking, and similar behaviors. However, in this instance, it appears the no-contact order was wielded as a weapon against a journalist and investigative reporter.

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The incident arose following Roddy’s attempt to ask questions of a public official on the campus of the county seat. Instead of addressing the questions, Roddy found himself served with a no-contact order and a no-trespass order, effectively and permanently barring him from the county seat. This action raises significant concerns about the misuse of legal mechanisms meant to protect individuals, highlighting potential threats to freedom of the press and the public’s right to information.

In Tanga’s article for the AP, Dr. Joseph Russomanno, a journalism and mass communication professor at Arizona State University’s Cronkite School, expressed concerns about the situation. He noted that based solely on Rogers’ testimony, a judge had rejected banning Sanchez from the Senate but granted a request for her to stay away from Rogers’ homes for one year. Russomanno found it problematic that the judge would rely on Rogers to determine what constitutes standard journalistic practice. He remarked, “That the judge would place credibility in Sen. Rogers and her ability to determine what is a standard practice of journalism, which is in effect what the judge was asking her, it was ridiculous.”

Following a hearing in Flagstaff Justice Court, Judge Howard Grodman emphasized the importance of investigative reporting as a legitimate purpose. He affirmed Sanchez’s freedom to report and investigate, stating that she can continue to report from the floor of the Senate. Additionally, the order against Sanchez returning to Rogers’s home was lifted, with the judge instructing Rogers to essentially post a no-trespass sign.