Sheriff Accused of Bullying, Threatening Reporter

This Source Verification Page documents a supplemental news article published by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press concerning allegations that Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford threatened Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Tonya Maxwell following her investigative reporting on the Mary Elizabeth Judd murder case. The article discusses the reaction to the Citizen-Times investigative series "Waiting for Justice," which examined the wrongful incarceration of John Collins and David Hammack and raised questions regarding the conduct of the investigation. Statement of Facts D cites this source to provide independent corroboration of reporting concerning the Judd investigation and to document official responses to media scrutiny of Buncombe County law enforcement practices.

Related SMAR Citation

(Used to corroborate the Star News Online reporting.)

Source Name

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Publication

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Publication Date

December 11, 2003

Verification Source

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Source Location

RCFP News Archive

Highlighted Pages

1 - 2

Referenced in the Supplemental Motion

Page 28 - 29, Paragraph 50

Source Status

✔ Article obtained and reviewed.

✔ Relevant passages highlighted.

✔ Publicly available source.

✔ Included within the Source Verification Archive.

Cited to Support

Lyle C. May alleges that public reporting by the Asheville Citizen-Times exposed significant problems in the investigation of the Mary Elizabeth Judd homicide, prompting Buncombe County District Attorney Ron Moore to review the case and publicly defend the actions of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press article is cited to corroborate reporting that Sheriff Bobby Medford reacted to the newspaper's investigative series "Waiting for Justice" by threatening reporter Tonya Maxwell, that the series prompted Moore's review of the investigation, and that Moore's subsequent report concluded there was no wrongdoing by the Sheriff's Department despite the controversy surrounding the case. May further relies upon this source to demonstrate that investigative reporting concerning the Mary Elizabeth Judd murder case generated significant public scrutiny, prompted official review by District Attorney Ron Moore, and resulted in allegations that Sheriff Bobby Medford attempted to intimidate a reporter covering the controversy.

Supporting Documents

Original Article

Link to the original article.

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Highlighted Research Copy

Working research copy containing the highlighted passages cited in the Supplemental Motion.

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