A judge in Mississippi has reversed her controversial order requiring a small newspaper to remove an editorial critical of local officials, reports the New York Times. The ruling by Crystal Wise Martin of Hinds County Chancery Court had been widely criticized as a violation of the free-speech rights of The Press Register of Clarksdale. "As I warned them, it blew up in their face and it created a national outcry," said Wyatt Emmerich, president of the newspaper's ownership group. "It embarrassed the city, and they realized what they had done was a mistake."
As the AP recounts, the controversy started when the newspaper wrote a scathing editorial on Feb. 8 headlined "Secrecy, deception erode public trust." It faulted city officials for not notifying the media about a meeting the board of commissioners held about a proposed tax on alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco. The city sued, saying the editorial "chilled and hindered" the mayor's ability to lobby for the tax in the capital of Jackson. Martin then ordered the editorial removed from the newspaper's website, but her new ruling means it can return. Her decision came a day after the board dropped its suit against the newspaper. (More Mississippi stories.)