{"id":100894,"date":"2026-01-28T17:07:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T22:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcguirewoods.com\/?post_type=news&p=100894"},"modified":"2026-01-28T17:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T22:07:41","slug":"newspaper-highlights-mcguirewoods-pro-bono-support-of-investigative-journalism","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.mcguirewoods.com\/news\/in-the-news\/2026\/1\/newspaper-highlights-mcguirewoods-pro-bono-support-of-investigative-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Newspaper Highlights McGuireWoods\u2019 Pro Bono Support of Investigative Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

McGuireWoods\u2019 pro bono legal work helped two North Carolina news organizations obtain public records that shed light on federal and state investigations into alleged abuses of power at the Columbus County Sheriff\u2019s Office. The Assembly<\/em> recounted its years-long effort to obtain the documents, in tandem with Border Belt Independent<\/em>, and McGuireWoods\u2019 crucial role in winning the legal battle, in a Jan. 20, 2026, story<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journalists\u2019 requests for records were ignored, delayed or denied for months, even though state law is clear that government officials have a duty to produce responsive public records. Such stonewalling often stymies investigative reporters, but The Assembly<\/em> turned to pro bono legal support through the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) and McGuireWoods lawyers Joie Johnston<\/a> and Brad Kutrow<\/a>. The RCFP and McGuireWoods team disputed the denials and, when other measures failed, filed a lawsuit to compel Columbus County officials to release the records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did everything possible to engage with the sheriff and commissioners, through their counsel, to get them to comply with the public records law and avert litigation,\u201d Johnston told The Assembly<\/em>. \u201cBut in the end, taking our case to court was the only way we could get the sheriff and the county to comply with the law or even engage in meaningful discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGuireWoods attorneys spent more than 350 hours working on the case; most people can\u2019t afford to pay for that kind of service when public officials don\u2019t follow the law, the newspaper reported. \u201cMost newsrooms can\u2019t, either, which is perhaps why so many public agencies feel emboldened to ignore the law these days,\u201d the story reads. \u201cWe certainly could not have sued without our pro bono support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

McGuireWoods\u2019 pro bono legal work helped two North Carolina news organizations obtain public records that shed light on federal and state investigations into alleged abuses of power at the Columbus…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tags":[],"industry_tax":[],"international_tax":[],"location_tax":[68],"media_role":[],"news_type":[2416],"people_tax":[1537,1747],"practice_tax":[188,4097],"site_tax":[2],"class_list":["post-100894","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_type-in-the-news","practice_tax-government-investigations-white-collar-litigation","practice_tax-north-carolina-appellate-litigation"],"acf":[],"links_out":[{"id":913,"title":"Joie Johnston","url":"https:\/\/www.mcguirewoods.com\/people\/j\/joie-johnston\/","published":"2022-12-09 16:20:57","blog_id":2},{"id":1050,"title":"Bradley R. Kutrow","url":"https:\/\/www.mcguirewoods.com\/people\/k\/bradley-r-kutrow\/","published":"2018-07-22 06:51:07","blog_id":2}],"links_in":[],"yoast_head":"\nNewspaper Highlights McGuireWoods\u2019 Pro Bono Support of Investigative Journalism - McGuireWoods<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mcguirewoods.com\/news\/in-the-news\/2026\/1\/newspaper-highlights-mcguirewoods-pro-bono-support-of-investigative-journalism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Newspaper Highlights McGuireWoods\u2019 Pro Bono Support of Investigative Journalism - McGuireWoods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"McGuireWoods\u2019 pro bono legal work helped two North Carolina news organizations obtain public records that shed light on federal and state 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