public records lawsuits Tennessee

5 Jan, 2023

Judge puts the brakes on state’s use of deliberative process privilege

By |2023-01-05T14:50:58-06:00January 5, 2023|Categories: deliberative process privilege, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Davidson County Chancellor Pat Moskal ruled that the state could not withhold consultant reports by McKinsey and Co. under a deliberative process privilege in the face of a public records request. She said the reports were a one-way communication with state officials and did not fall under a deliberative process privilege because they were not "deliberative" and did not consist of communications between high-level government officials. The ruling is a win for journalist Stephen Elliott, who began requesting the reports in 2020.

30 Aug, 2022

Court of Appeals: Trial audio recording a public record

By |2023-01-02T16:52:59-06:00August 30, 2022|Categories: court records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that an audio recording of a trial made by the court reporter is part of the court record and a public record subject to the state public records law. The ruling overturns a lower court decision that had upheld an East Tennessee judge's refusal to give a convicted killer the audio recording of his murder trial.

20 May, 2022

Lawsuit seeks access to DCS child death records

By |2022-05-20T10:32:11-05:00May 20, 2022|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee, state records|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

A lawsuit filed earlier this month by journalist Stacy Jacobson of WREG in Memphis is seeking access to records related to the Department of Children's Services interactions with a 14-year-old boy who died in Memphis 2020. The department had investigated issues surrounding the boy four times previous to his death.

17 Feb, 2022

Citizen asks appeals court to reconsider attorney fees award

By |2022-02-17T14:53:40-06:00February 17, 2022|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

A citizen who won a public records lawsuit against the Knox County Sheriff has asked an appeals court for a rehearing on a ruling that vacated the trial court's award of about $58,000  in attorney's fees and expenses.

28 Jan, 2022

AG tells judge COVID-19 reports should be withheld to avoid ‘Monday-morning quarterbacking’

By |2022-01-28T19:06:29-06:00January 28, 2022|Categories: deliberative process privilege, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

The deputy attorney general for Tennessee argued in court this week that reports by consultant McKinsey and Co. regarding the re-opening of Tennessee and other government responses during the COVID-19 pandemic are exempt from the public records law because revealing them would open up the executive branch to second-guessing by the public.

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