Open Courts Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

27 Mar, 2023

Judge: Press likely has a First Amendment right of access to meetings of court rules commission
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Judge: Press likely has a First Amendment right of access to meetings of court rules commission

Open Courts, Open Meetings

Judge: Press likely has a First Amendment right of access to meetings of court rules commission

By Deborah Fisher|2023-06-21T10:41:00-05:00March 27, 2023|Categories: Open Courts, Open Meetings|Tags: Administrative Office of the Courts, Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure, Center Square, court access, First Amendment, Tennessee Judicial Conference|1 Comment

A federal judge in Nashville ruled that the press and the public likely have a First Amendment right of access to meetings of a court rules commission that recommends rules of procedure and practice for all Tennessee courts. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson ordered that the meetings no longer be closed, and said opening the meetings will create public confidence and transparency, and likely result in better rules.

30 Aug, 2022

Court of Appeals: Trial audio recording a public record
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Court of Appeals: Trial audio recording a public record

court records, public records lawsuits Tennessee

Court of Appeals: Trial audio recording a public record

By Deborah Fisher|2023-01-02T16:52:59-06:00August 30, 2022|Categories: court records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: audio recordings, Chancellor Patricia Moskal, court records, deliberative process, Judge Kristi M. Davis|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.

14 Jun, 2022

Judge declines to issue order allowing press to cover Judicial Conference
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Judge declines to issue order allowing press to cover Judicial Conference

Open Courts, open meetings lawsuits

Judge declines to issue order allowing press to cover Judicial Conference

By Deborah Fisher|2022-06-16T08:28:58-05:00June 14, 2022|Categories: Open Courts, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: Administrative Office of the Courts, Buck Dougherty, court access, First Amendment, Janet Kleinfelter, Liberty Justice Center, Rachel Harmon, Tennessee Judicial Conference, The Center Media, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr.|0 Comments

A federal judge declined on Tuesday to issue a temporary restraining order requested by a media organization that wanted to cover the Tennessee Judicial Conference annual meeting after getting assurances from a deputy attorney general that the meeting to take place on Wednesday was only an educational "CLE for judges."

13 Jun, 2022

Center Square lawsuit says blanket closure of judicial conference violates First Amendment

By Deborah Fisher|2022-06-15T06:40:32-05:00June 13, 2022|Categories: Open Courts, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: Administrative Office of the Courts, Center Square, court access, First Amendment, Michelle Long, Tennessee Judicial Conference|0 Comments

A national news organization with operations in Tennessee has filed a federal lawsuit against the director of Tennessee's court administration, claiming the blanket closure of upcoming judicial conference meetings violates First Amendment rights of access to courts.

16 Oct, 2020

Family members, others shut out of court proceedings in Davidson County

By Deborah Fisher|2020-10-16T16:39:13-05:00October 16, 2020|Categories: Open Courts, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: courtroom access, COVID-19|0 Comments

I arrived at the Justice A.A. Birch Building at about 8:15 a.m. this morning to see for myself what others have told me: Family members of people with court dates in General Sessions court are not allowed to accompany their loved ones into the building. It took only a few minutes to witness someone being told by a security guard to wait outside where others like them already waited in the cool morning air. There I found a grandmother who had intended to be a character witness for her grandson, a wife whose husband was there about a restraining order and a girlfriend of a man with a probation violating [...]