Utah Political Watch v. Musselman

Case Overview

A First Amendment press-access case brought by Bryan Schott, who covered the Utah Legislature for more than twenty-five years for mainstream outlets, and his independent news organization, Utah Political Watch. After Schott left his newspaper in 2025 to report on his own, the Legislature denied his press credential under a Capitol media policy that categorically excludes blogs, independent media, and freelancers. Schott sued the legislative staff who administer the policy, alleging viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment, both facial and as-applied, along with retaliation, prior restraint, and vagueness claims. The federal district court in Utah dismissed every claim. On June 30, 2026, the Tenth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part in a published opinion by Judge Tymkovich, joined by Judges Murphy and Bacharach. The panel revived Schott's viewpoint-discrimination claims, holding he plausibly alleged the Legislature denied his credential because of the viewpoints in his reporting, and remanded for the district court to decide whether the policy is viewpoint-based on its face. It affirmed dismissal of the retaliation, prior-restraint, and vagueness claims. The defendants petitioned for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc on July 14, 2026, and Utah and Oklahoma filed an amicus brief supporting rehearing.