Open Courts

13 May, 2020

Most Tennessee COVID-19 court plans offer no provisions for public, media access

By |2020-07-14T11:17:18-05:00May 13, 2020|Categories: Open Courts|Tags: , , , |1 Comment

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen H. Lyle (upper right in this April 30 proceeding) has a YouTube channel to stream electronic proceedings and gives the public information on how to access it. However, a review of 26 Judicial District COVID-19 plans shows that most courts in Tennessee have not provided plans on allowing public or press access to either in-person proceedings going forward or electronic proceedings. Most judicial districts that have submitted COVID-19 plans to the Tennessee Supreme Court to resume in-person proceedings — and increase electronic proceedings — offer no guidance on how their courts will operate transparently and openly going forward. A review of 26 judicial plans shows that [...]

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24 Apr, 2020

In-person court proceedings can resume with certain safeguards and approval

By |2020-05-09T13:15:55-05:00April 24, 2020|Categories: Open Courts|Tags: , , |1 Comment

In what seems to be becoming a pattern with big announcements, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee shared news of the order first on twitter on Friday morning. The order was posted on the court's website a few hours later. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order today modifying its earlier suspension of in-person court proceedings, providing a pathway for in-person court proceedings to resume. The court on March 13 declared a state of emergency for the judicial branch of government in Tennessee, and suspended most in-person court proceedings with some exceptions. (The order was updated March 25.) "Since that time, the State of Tennessee and its citizens have made [...]

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5 Oct, 2018

Tennessee Supreme Court begins video of oral arguments

By |2018-10-05T11:36:51-05:00October 5, 2018|Categories: Open Courts|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Tennessee Supreme Court Justices: Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins, seated; standing from left, Justice Holly Kirby, Justice Cornelia A. Clark, Justice Sharon G. Lee, and Justice Roger A. Page. The Tennessee Supreme Court this week began a new program to videotape oral arguments of its cases and to post them on its website for the public to see. This follows the Court's initiative to make audio recordings of oral arguments available on the website beginning five years ago. “There has been too much mystique about the Supreme Court for too long,” Chief Justice Jeff Bivins said in a press release. “This Supreme Court is committed to openness and [...]

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5 Jul, 2018

State’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma – unsealed

By |2018-07-12T11:54:13-05:00July 5, 2018|Categories: court records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|0 Comments

Detailed data in the state's opioid lawsuit illustrate how Purdue Pharma continued to push its most profitable drug OxyContin to high-volume providers in Tennessee despite evidence that those providers were misusing or allowing misuse of the drug, according to the state's unsealed court filing. An OxyContin tablet In one instance, Purdue called on two providers 48 times after being flagged by law enforcement; in another case, Purdue made sales calls 31 times to a provider whose license was on probation because of issues related to his high prescribing of controlled substances. The lawsuit references a wealth of evidence collected by the state to back its allegations that Purdue [...]

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5 Jul, 2018

OxyContin maker Purdue withdraws effort to close parts of state’s lawsuit

By |2018-07-12T11:55:10-05:00July 5, 2018|Categories: court records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|1 Comment

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has withdrawn its motion for a protective order to conceal parts of the state of Tennessee's lawsuit against it that contains allegations and evidence of unlawful conduct. The state's attorney general filed its 274-page lawsuit under temporary seal, but argued the seal should be lifted within 10 days. Purdue then filed a motion for a protective order to seal parts of the lawsuit, claiming specific information in it were trade secrets that could harm its competitive position if revealed. Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. TCOG was permitted to intervene in the case, along with Knoxville News Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy, to oppose efforts [...]

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