crime records Archives - Page 19 of 19 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

The Tennessean: Bill would shield ID and personal information of rape victims

By Deborah Fisher|2014-04-09T16:49:44-05:00February 12, 2014|Categories: crime records, exemptions, Legislature|Tags: crime records, legislature, Open Records Act exemptions, sexual assault records|0 Comments

A Feb. 10 story by The Tennessean's crime and courts reporter Brian Haas, reprinted here with permission: Proposed state legislation pushed by Metro Nashville could hide information on rape cases from the public and prevent defense attorneys from discussing key evidence with their clients. Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, filed the bill at the behest of Metro’s legal department. The bill, if passed, would shield the identity and personal information of rape victims. But, as written, critics say it could not only turn rape into an “invisible crime,” but could also interfere with a defendant’s right to a fair trial by preventing attorneys from discussing key evidence with their clients. [...]

Nashville sued for records in Vanderbilt rape case

From Associated Press: NASHVILLE, Tenn.—A coalition of news media organizations, including The Tennessean and The Associated Press, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Nashville to force the release of records in a case involving former Vanderbilt football players charged with rape. The lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks video surveillance and photographs that Vanderbilt University turned over to police. The media organizations are not seeking additional video or photographs believed to have been taken by defendants during the alleged attack. The suit says records obtained by Nashville police that were created by parties outside government should be public under state law. Four former football players are accused of raping an [...]