Judge Criticized For Sealing Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's Divorce File

Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton: Revisit Their Best Moments

"These parties are entertainers and are not guardians of the public trust," Gardner said. "Because the matters contained in this case are likely to be of significant media interest, but are private in nature and not matters which are of a legitimate public interest, there is a compelling privacy interest which outweighs the public's interest in the record."

Former state Rep. Aaron Stiles contends that Gardner broke a law by keeping the entire divorce petition and divorce decree under seal. Stiles, who wrote the 2014 law on the sealing of court records, said it requires judges to narrowly tailor secrecy orders "so that only the portions of the record subject to confidentiality are sealed and the remainder of the record is kept open."

Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert to Divorce

But the new filing on Tuesday does fulfill one key requirement of the law, which said a protective order in sealing records "shall be public."

Shelton and Lambert, who shared a home together outside Tishomingo, announced last week that they were divorcing after four years of marriage.