Public Records Archives - Page 36 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

20 Jan, 2017

Office of Open Records Counsel finalizes model public records policy

By Deborah Fisher|2017-01-20T16:56:25-06:00January 20, 2017|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, requests|Tags: fees for public records, model public records policy, Office of Open Records Counsel, photos of public records, public records requests|1 Comment

The Office of Open Records Counsel has published a new model public records policy that can be used by government entities in establishing records policies, which are required by law this year. A new law mandates that all government entities in the state establish a public records policy by July 1, 2017. The policies must include the name of entity's public records request coordinator and include information about requesting public records and any fees. Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth The model policy developed by the Open Records Counsel, along with updated Best Practices & Guidelines, includes many of the same principles and advice given previously by the office. But [...]

21 Dec, 2016

Ohio Supreme Court finds delayed release of body camera footage “reasonable”

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-21T09:49:04-06:00December 21, 2016|Categories: crime records|Tags: Ohio Supreme Court, police body cameras|0 Comments

The Ohio Supreme Court, which recently ruled that not all police records fall under the state's investigatory exemption, ruled this week in a separate case about body camera footage in a police shooting. The court found that the district attorney's release of body camera footage after the indictment of a police officer was reasonable. In all, the district attorney withheld the body camera footage for six business days. Read the ruling. From Cleveland.com: Hamilton County officials were within the law to withhold body camera footage for six business days after a University of Cincinnati police officer fatally shot a man during a traffic stop, the state's highest court ruled Tuesday. But [...]

20 Dec, 2016

Nashville police chief publicly blasts DA spokesman who released name of alleged rape victim

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-20T13:47:03-06:00December 20, 2016|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Ken Whitehouse, sexual assault records, Steve Anderson, WSMV-TV|1 Comment

The Nashville Police Chief publicly blasted a spokesman in the District Attorney's office for releasing a police incident report to a TV station that contained the name of a housekeeping employee who reported she was raped in a Bridgestone Arena bathroom. The woman later gave an on-camera interview to WSMV-TV Channel 4, saying she wanted to tell her story and was upset after learning that the co-worker who she said attacked her was a registered sex offender. "They should screen sex offenders, murderers, anybody (before employing them)," she told the TV station. Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson Police Chief Steve Anderson said that releasing the name of the alleged rape victim [...]

19 Dec, 2016

Bristol newspaper gets lottery data in Virginia, but same records are secret in Tennessee

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-19T16:26:10-06:00December 19, 2016|Categories: exemptions|Tags: Bristol Herald Courier, lottery records, public records exemptions, Rebecca Hargrove|0 Comments

The Bristol Herald Courier reported in a Sunday story a geographical sales analysis of lottery data. But it could only tell half the story. Why? The line that separates Bristol, Tenn., from Bristol, Va. is also the state line. While it could report data from Virginia lottery sales in Bristol, Va., the same data from the Tennessee lottery in Bristol, Tenn., is confidential under an exemption in the Tennessee Public Records Act. In Bristol, Va., half of the largest retailers of lottery tickets sell their tickets in an area that is home to some of the city's lowest-earning residents. The newspaper explained that it wanted to do the same [...]

15 Dec, 2016

Knight Foundation survey seeks feedback on FOI laws

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:57:36-05:00December 15, 2016|Categories: Public Records|Tags: FOI laws, Knight Foundation, public records laws|0 Comments

The Knight Foundation is conducting a national survey to better understand the freedom of information landscape in the United States and what might be done to improve it. The Knight Foundation survey asks about access to information at the local, state and federal level. Anyone interested in Freedom of Information laws is invited to share their thoughts. The online survey takes about 15 minutes and will be open until Jan. 1. To take it, go to Knight FOI Survey. I encourage all journalists and citizens in the state who have used the public records laws in Tennessee -- or the federal public records laws -- to provide feedback so Tennessee [...]