Judge bans photos from courtrooms

By Lisa Majors-Duff

In an order issued Monday (Oct. 7), Judge Marlene Hyatt said "...a courtroom is not an appropriate area of display for portraits" and that "...no portraits shall be hung in either courtroom..."

Appearing before the Jackson County Board of Commissioners Aug. 22, Linda Collins of Atlanta, daughter of former Jackson County Register of Deeds Glenn Hughes, requested a portrait of her father that had once hung in the old county courthouse be hung in the Justice Center courtroom.

She further requested other photos of prominent Jackson County citizens E.P. Stillwell, Dan Allison, David Hall and Marcellus Buchanan be hung in the Justice Center since they, too, had once hung along side her father's photo.

A decision was delayed during that meeting while research was conducted to determine if decor guidelines had been established when the Justice Center was built in 1994. As was reported during the board's next meeting (Sept. 5), no such guidelines were uncovered in a search of the board's official minutes.

Chris Matheson, daughter of former District Attorney Marcellus Buchanan, joined Collins at the Sept. 5 meeting to again request the photos be hung in the Justice Center. By a vote of 4-1, commissioners agreed with the request and instructed the county manager to have the photos hung in Courtroom One.

In the meantime, Judge Hyatt wrote a letter to county officials that proposed instead of hanging the pictures in the courtroom that "...a portrait gallery be created in the public foyer area outside the courtrooms."

She said additionally that more people would be likely to see the portraits if they were hung in a gallery, where information about each person could accompany the photos.

Requests by this newspaper to obtain a copy of Judge Hyatt's letter dated Sept. 25 were denied by Jackson County Manager Ken Westmoreland, who said the letter "is not mine to give. It was addressed to the commissioners individually."

Restricting access to the letter, which in fact was addressed to Westmoreland in his position as county manager, constituted an apparent violation of the N.C. Public Records Law.

"That's a public record," said N.C. Press Association attorney Amanda Martin, who said in her opinion Westmoreland should have released the letter. Since the photos were not hung as of the board's last meeting (Oct. 3), Collins again appeared before commissioners to request an update. That was when Westmoreland asked if the board wished to discuss Judge Hyatt's letter.

"Just hang them," Commissioner Franz Whitmire said. "That's what we voted to do."

Judge Hyatt's order appears to have overruled the board's decision.

"We are willing to accept the judge's decision and we do not plan to contest it," said board Chairman Jay Denton, who indicated he'd polled all but Commissioner Conrad Burrell before reaching that conclusion.

"This is rather shocking to me," Collins said Tuesday. "I'm floored."

Collins said she, too, attempted to obtain a copy of Judge Hyatt's letter prior to the board's last meeting, a request that was denied.

"I don't know what to think because I wasn't kept informed," she said. "I was unable to get a copy of the judge's letter, and I haven't been included in what's taken place.

"I really don't even know what to think or how to respond," she continued. "I worked so hard for so long to find the pictures and to have them hung."

"Our family was never notified that correspondence with Judge Hyatt was taking place or that an order regarding the hanging of these portraits was being considered," Matheson said. "We are surprised and confused.

"We feel that the courtroom is the appropriate place to hang my father's picture," she continued. "He was so proud to have been honored this way when he was alive, and it is a shame to have this controversy after his death.

"At this point in time we are unsure whether we want to relinquish his portrait until we know that it will be hung in a place of honor and respect," Matheson said.

Without further board discussion, it is unclear if or where the photos will be displayed in the Justice Center.

Back to Archive: 10/10/02.