Public Records Archives - Page 19 of 78 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

9 Apr, 2020

Memphis ordered to pay attorney’s fees for violating public records law over traffic accident reports

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T12:54:36-05:00April 9, 2020|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: attorney's fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Memphis, traffic accident reports|1 Comment

Memphis and Nashville have both lost public records lawsuits over the past two years in which they were found to willfully violate the public records law in not releasing traffic accident report information or delaying release. Combined, the cities had to pay more than $234,690 in attorney's fees and court costs to Bradley Jetmore, who brought the litigation. (Photo, public domain via Wikimedia) The City of Memphis in March was ordered to pay $107,687 in attorney's fees in a public records case in which it was found to willfully violate the law in redacting public information from traffic accident reports. It was the second case won by Bradley Jetmore involving [...]

30 Mar, 2020

Other states outpace Tennessee in COVID-19 data provided to citizens

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:23:02-05:00March 30, 2020|Categories: Public Records|Tags: COVID-19|0 Comments

Several other states are releasing more information to its citizens than Tennessee about the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus. For example, several states are releasing on their websites deaths by COVID-19 by county, and others are announcing the city or county location of deaths in press briefings. In contrast, the Tennessee Department of Health has declined to release the number of COVID-19 deaths by county. The state's website with data on COVID-19 in Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee is also giving 3 p.m. (CDT) daily press briefings, which are streamed live here and remain available on the website. "We are providing numbers of deaths at the state level only due to the [...]

23 Feb, 2020

Lawsuit by Scoop Media Group challenges redaction of victim names

By Deborah Fisher|2021-01-11T16:55:23-06:00February 23, 2020|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Chancellor Laurence M. McMcMillan, crime records, Jason Steen, Montgomery County, Office of Open Records Council, Scoop Media|0 Comments

Update: Scoop Media won its public records case in August 2020. Montgomery County Chancellor Laurence M. McMillan ruled that T.C.A. § 4-38-111(i) does not make confidential the names and address of alleged victims of criminal conduct found in warrants and affidavits of complaints, but rather applies to identifying information about a victim obtained when the person requests notifications regarding the status of criminal proceedings. He ordered Montgomery County to stop redacting the information. However, he denied attorney's fees to Scoop Media because the Office of Open Records Counsel had advised Montgomery County that the confidentiality provision would "probably apply to domestic violence situations where an officer responds to a scene" [...]

23 Feb, 2020

Bill would require government entities to put meeting agendas online

By Deborah Fisher|2023-04-11T10:57:55-05:00February 23, 2020|Categories: Public Records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: agendas, basic government information, government websites, meeting minutes, State Rep. William Lamberth, State Sen. Mike Bell|1 Comment

State Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and state Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, are pushing a bill that would require government entities to post meeting agendas on their websites, as well as other basic government information. House Bill 2132 and Senate Bill 2756 would make it easier and faster for the public to get and review agendas for upcoming meetings. State Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, (left) and State Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, (right) have proposed legislation that would require government entities with a website to include meeting agendas and other basic government information on the website. The bill requires a government entity with a website to post its meetings agendas on the [...]

23 Feb, 2020

Harassment bill fails on 5-4 vote

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T16:38:31-06:00February 23, 2020|Categories: requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: harassment, legislation, public records requests, State Sen. Ferrell Haile, State Sen. Mike Bell|0 Comments

A bill that would allow a government entity to petition a court for an injunction against someone who was using the public records process to harass government employees failed in a Senate committee last week. Sen. Ferrell Haile, R- Gallatin. The harassment bill, sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, arose last year after reports of a man who city officials in Gallatin and others believe is abusing the process and wasting government time through multiple and voluminous requests with seemingly no purpose. Haile amended the bill, working with stakeholders including Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, which eventually supported the amended version of the bill. Haile characterized the bill as an [...]