FOIFT honors Bill Girdner with James Madison Award

AUSTIN – Bill Girdner, the editor of Courthouse News Service, who has worked to require timely news media access to court filings in Texas and across the nation, was honored with the 2023 James Madison Award by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

FOIFT bestows the award on those who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the principles of the First Amendment and open government. The foundation presented the award to Girdner at its state conference Sept. 28 in Austin during the John Henry Faulk Awards Luncheon.

A journalist for more than three decades, Girdner has spent much of that time battling state court officials over access to new filings when a court receives them. This has led to First Amendment victories in numerous trial and appellate courts.

Girdner has sought to compel court clerks to provide the news media with same-day access to e-filed complaints, petitions and motions as a matter of First Amendment law, noted attorney Paul Watler, a member of the Freedom of Information Foundation board who nominated Girdner for the award.

“At a time when traditional press outlets have dialed back their commitment to media access cases, Bill single-handedly has been the impetus behind an evolving body of law addressing the right of news media access to electronic court filings,” Watler said.

Matt Dow, a partner along with Watler at the Jackson Walker law firm who represented Courthouse News in a court access case in Texas, said Girdner is smart, humble and persistent.

“Bill is a tireless champion of the First Amendment,” Dow said.

Girdner explains that his commitment to fighting for public access comes from the fundamental belief that American courts are open, public institutions at the heart of our democracy. He said he often encounters “militant opposition from within state court bureaucracies that use public funds and public lawyers to oppose public access in the electronic era.”

The FOI Foundation of Texas has presented the James Madison Award annually since 1987 to journalists, attorneys, public officials and vigilant citizens.

More from the annual FOIFT conference will be featured in the November edition of the Texas Press Messenger.