Public Records Archives - Page 44 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

28 Mar, 2016

News-Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy on police records and the Supreme Court decision

By Deborah Fisher|2018-08-06T08:47:25-05:00March 28, 2016|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: crime records, Jack McElroy, Tennessee Supreme Court|0 Comments

From Jack McElroy, editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, in a column published Sunday: Jack McElroy Boy, did Gary Wade touch a nerve. The former Supreme Court justice dissented in the media's lawsuit to see police records in the Vanderbilt rape case, and that really hacked off his fellow justices. First, some background. The Tennessee Public Records Act declares that all records are open to the public, "unless otherwise provided by state law." The Legislature has passed scores of exemptions. But "state law" also includes the constitution, court rulings, common law, and regulations based on law. In the Vanderbilt case, the News Sentinel joined a coalition seeking information [...]

25 Mar, 2016

New Tennessee law could make requesting public records less confusing

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-08T07:50:46-06:00March 25, 2016|Categories: Legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel, requests|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, public records request, State Rep. Bill Dunn, State Sen. Richard Briggs|0 Comments

From Associated Press: The state Legislature has passed a bill that will require nearly every government office across Tennessee to tell citizens how they can get public records. State Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, led the bill's passage. The measure first directs the open records counsel in the state comptroller's office to come up with a model public records policy that local government agencies could adopt. The legislation would then require government offices to have a written public records policy by July 1, 2017. The policy can't be less open than state law allows, and it should explain to citizens how to make a request to either inspect or [...]

17 Mar, 2016

Tennessee Supreme Court says police records in active cases may be withheld from the public

By Deborah Fisher|2018-08-06T08:47:57-05:00March 17, 2016|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: crime records, Justice Gary Wade, Justice Holly Kirby, Justice Sharon Lee, Tennessee Supreme Court, The Tennessean|0 Comments

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that any record that is part of an active police department’s criminal investigation may be withheld under the state's public records laws. Justice Sharon Lee The opinion written by Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee gave only brief nod to the media’s role in reporting about crime and law enforcement. Instead, she said the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, which are written by the Tennessee Supreme Court, govern access to police files until a criminal case is over and all appeals are exhausted. “The media plays an important and necessary role in holding government officials accountable. Yet, the General Assembly has rightly recognized that [...]

13 Mar, 2016

If you ever wondered about the importance of access to public records, watch the movie Spotlight

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-14T08:04:46-05:00March 13, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: crime records, legislature, police body cameras, Spotlight|0 Comments

Scene from the movie Spotlight, which portrays the investigative reporting team of The Boston Globe who used public documents to help uncover a story of abuse of children by priests. There’s a great scene about public records in the movie Spotlight, which is based on the true story of The Boston Globe’s investigative reporting of child sex abuse by Catholic priests. Reporter Michael Rezendes rushes to the court clerk’s office to get an exhibit that had been filed as part of a court motion. It contained letters and evidence that showed that the Archdiocese of Boston had known about the molestation of children for years, but failed [...]

2 Mar, 2016

The Tennessean: School board to accept voicemail for records inspection

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-02T18:28:12-06:00March 2, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Jim Fuqua, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, public records request, Sumner County School Board|0 Comments

The Sumner County School Board met last night to adopt a new policy on public records requests after a judge last year said their policy violated state law. They had refused to fulfill a request two years ago because a citizen made the request by sending an email and following up with a phone call, instead of using the U.S. Postal Service or appearing in person. Read reporter Tena Lee's coverage from the Gallatin News Examiner: School board to accept voicemail for records inspection. Also, The Standard of Hendersonville's story by Sherry Mitchell, who also got quotes from the attorney representing Ken Jakes: School board gets court-ordered policy change just [...]