FAYETTEVILLE — An attorney seeking to seal past videos of Washington-Madison County Drug Court claims former circuit judge Mary Ann Gunn acted in bad faith when she took 76 boxes of files with her upon leaving office last summer.
In the amended complaint to a previous lawsuit, filed Thursday, attorney W.H. Taylor alleges Gunn took the files for the benefit of her syndicated reality show, “Last Shot with Judge Gunn.”
The lawsuit, which names Jones TV and the producers of “Last Shot,” but not Gunn herself, as defendants, was filed on behalf of three drug court graduates, William Garrison, Joshua K. Thompson and Sharina Watkins.
Gunn was a local, elected circuit judge who gained national attention for her work with drug offenders in drug court, which offers a strict treatment regimen as an option to jail time. She left the bench last summer to pursue her television show, which premiered Sept. 26. The show also is focused on drug offenders and treatment, with Gunn portraying herself as a judge.
The boxes, which Gunn took as she left her judicial post, were returned to Circuit Court a few days later and reportedly are now under lock and key. The lawsuit alleges the show’s producers have case records in their possession that include medical information not publicly releasable under federal law.
The plaintiffs ask any case records in the possession of the producers, as well as any recordings of drug court made by Jones TV between 2004 and 2010, be turned over to the court and sealed.
Taylor did not return a call left at his office Friday afternoon. He has previously said he will not comment on the case while it is pending.
Gunn said she could not comment on Taylor’s lawsuit because she hasn’t seen a copy of his most recent filing, but she said Taylor’s description of the files she took is inaccurate.
Gunn said she never had access to medical information kept in treatment files. The files she had in her possession mostly contained letters from the public and notes she took as defendants came before her in court, she said. Such notes are similar to publicly available transcripts of court proceedings, she said.
“I donated the files back to the county, but if there’s a problem, I very much want my personal letters and personal memorabilia back,” Gunn said.
Gunn also had some strong words for Taylor, who she has previously identified as part of a small group of people looking to hurt her show before it even premiered.
“This is his third run with a lawsuit accusing me of horrific acts,” Gunn said. “He’s going to find himself a counter-defendant if he doesn’t get his act together.”
Taylor first petitioned a judge in August to seal past recordings of drug court. Later, he filed his lawsuit against Jones TV and Arkansas on behalf of Garrison and Thompson. That lawsuit was the one amended Thursday.
Gunn served as a circuit judge between 1999 and June 2011. In episodes of “Last Shot,” filmed in her former courtroom, Gunn monitors the rehabilitation of people whose drug treatment is paid for by the show.
Gunn says the show is meant to educate the public about the dangers of drugs and the benefits of drug courts. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals has criticized the show as a sensationalized and an unrealistic portrayal of a drug court.