Open Courts Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

16 May, 2018

Will Purdue Pharma be able to keep Tennessee’s opioid lawsuit sealed?

By Deborah Fisher|2018-06-12T12:19:54-05:00May 16, 2018|Categories: Open Courts|Tags: courts, Herbert Slatery, Judge Kristi Davis, proprietary records, Purdue Pharma, sealed court records|0 Comments

The lawsuit by the state of Tennessee against Purdue Pharma in a Knoxville Circuit Court yesterday was filed under "temporary" seal to allow the company time to seek a protective order to keep it from the public's eye. Will the company be successful? Tennessee is not the only state suing the OxyContin maker. Purdue Pharma is facing 22 state lawsuits to date that, similar to this one, allege the company misrepresented the drug's risks, broke consumer protection laws and helped cause an expensive public health crisis now being shouldered by taxpayers. It also is facing hundreds of other civil suits. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery Attorney General Herbert [...]

24 Apr, 2017

Proposed rule change could erode access to court records, lawyers say

By Deborah Fisher|2017-04-25T07:44:42-05:00April 24, 2017|Categories: court records|Tags: court records, Doug Pierce, John Williams, Rick Hollow, Robb Harvey, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, Tennessee Bar Association, Tennessee Supreme Court|0 Comments

Some of the state’s leading news media attorneys are concerned that a proposed expansion of rules on public access to court records in Tennessee is overly broad and could erode access at the trial court level. The proposed change to the Tennessee Supreme Court rules would expand exemptions to the lower courts with language that one lawyer says is "vague to the point of potential constitutional infirmity." (Gavel illustration by www.weisspaarz.com, licensed under CC BY SA-2.0) The Tennessee Supreme Court has proposed changing Rule 34 “Policies and Guidelines Regarding Appellate Judicial Records,” which defines certain court records not open for inspection, such as unpublished drafts of judicial orders and [...]

7 Sep, 2016

Memphis Bar Association to host deep dive into Darrius Stewart police shooting case

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-21T16:58:45-05:00September 7, 2016|Categories: crime records, Open Courts, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Amy Weirich, Darrius Stewart, Lucian Pera, Memphis, Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Police, police shootings, public records training, Roy L. Austin Jr.|0 Comments

The Memphis Bar Association is hosting "Covering Police-Involved Shootings: A Deep Dive into the Darrius Stewart Case" on Sept. 28 as part of a daylong program bringing together journalists, lawyers and policymakers. Participants will have an opportunity to hear and interact with lawyers, judges, prosecutors and reporters who were involved in the Stewart case or covered it. Roy L. Austin Jr. Roy Austin Jr., deputy assistant to President Obama and Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, Justice, and Opportunity, will be the keynote speaker at lunch and share a national and policy perspective on police shootings. Later in the day, veteran reporters and lawyers will [...]

2 Jun, 2016

Knox County judge refuses to lift his seal on court records in UT case

By Deborah Fisher|2016-06-02T11:24:57-05:00June 2, 2016|Categories: court records|Tags: Knox County, Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee, Knoxville News Sentinel, Richard Hollow, sealed court records, University of Tennessee rape case|0 Comments

Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee refused this week a request by the Knoxville News Sentinel to lift the seal on court records entered in the case of former University of Tennessee football players accused of rape. Former UT football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams. The news organization filed a petition months ago, arguing that the judge had put the records under seal without any hearing on why secrecy was needed. The judge did not grant the News Sentinel's request for a hearing, but allowed its attorney to argue the point during another hearing on Tuesday related to the prosecutors' request to delay the trials. McGee said he [...]

26 Apr, 2016

15 decisions on public records by the Tennessee Legislature in 2016

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-09T08:23:32-06:00April 26, 2016|Categories: court records, crime records, exemptions, fees, Legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel, requests|Tags: birth certificates, civil asset forfeiture, court records, death certificates, drones, exemptions, fees for public records, government contracts, legislature, police body cameras, police records, police shootings, public notice, tax records, TBI, vendor confidentiality|1 Comment

This year, Tennessee lawmakers punted on public records bills that could have created new access rights to see police body camera video and files of finished investigations into officer-involved shootings. But they did pass several new laws — some that exempted more government information from public view, and others that hold promise for improving government transparency. Following is a roundup of action by the Tennessee Legislature related to public records and access. 1- Police body cameras: After a late-in-session effort to pass a body camera bill and disagreement among stakeholders, the House State Government Committee instructed the Advisory Committee on Open Government to study the issue and provide them with [...]