A North Carolina county government agreed to pay legal fees incurred by two local newspapers in their successful fight – led by McGuireWoods pro bono attorneys – to force the government to comply with state public records laws.
Commissioners from Columbus County on May 18, 2026, voted to drop the county’s appeal of a judge’s award of $74,557 in fees to The Assembly and Border Belt Independent. McGuireWoods lawyers Joie Johnston and Brad Kutrow and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provided pro bono representation to the newspapers in a lawsuit seeking public records related to allegations of misconduct against a former sheriff and some of his deputies. A Superior Court judge in 2025 ruled in the newspapers’ favor and, as allowed by North Carolina’s public records law, ordered the county to pay the newspapers’ attorney fees for more than 350 hours of work.
“We are pleased the judge recognized that our statute mandates a fee award when a news organization ‘substantially prevails’ in a public records action, and we are grateful the county has withdrawn its appeal,” Kutrow said.
Last year the Reporters Committee presented Kutrow with its Freedom of the Press Pro Bono Award, while the Mecklenburg Bar Association honored Johnston as its Outstanding Individual Attorney for 2025 for her pro bono work.
The Assembly and Border Belt Independent jointly published a May 19, 2026, story on the county’s decision to withdraw its appeal.