Maria De Varenne Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

Request to appeal Vanderbilt records case aims to settle what police can withhold from public

The Tennessean, seven other media outlets, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and Tennessee Coalition for Open Government have filed a request with the Tennessee Supreme Court to appeal a lower court's ruling concerning what police can withhold from public view. The Court of Appeals in Nashville in a Sept. 30 ruling said that if a local law enforcement agency claims information is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation, that information can be exempt from the Tennessee Public Records Act. Appellate Judge Neal McBrayer dissented, saying the specific police information requested in The Tennessean's case did not fall under a previously recognized exemption that protects some, but not all, information in a [...]

Court of Appeals considers access to crime records in Tennessee

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-02T10:35:57-06:00June 11, 2014|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Doug Pierce, Frank G. Clement Jr., Janet Kleinfelter, Maria De Varenne, Nashville, Richard Dinkins, Rick Hollow, Robb Harvey, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, Tennessee Press Association, The Tennessean, Vanderbilt rape case, W. Neal McBrayer|0 Comments

By Deborah Fisher, TCOG Executive Director Spectators packed the courtroom June 9 for oral arguments in the appeal of the public records case, The Tennessean et al v. Metro Government of Nashville. The petition was brought by The Tennessean and a media coalition after it requested to see crime records collected by police concerning an alleged rape at Vanderbilt University, and were denied access. So many people filled the rows of the appellate court that it prompted Judge Frank G. Clement to make a light note that the court usually doesn’t draw such a crowd. But the room quickly grew serious as lawyers began their arguments and the three appellate judges [...]