public records lawsuits Tennessee Archives - Page 12 of 20 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

26 Oct, 2016

TCOG files amicus brief in Sumner County case over emailed public records request

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-28T08:03:53-05:00October 26, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Court of Appeals, John Williams, Ken Jakes, Rick Hollow, Sumner County School Board, TCOG news, Tennessee School Board Association|1 Comment

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has filed an amicus curiae brief with the Court of Appeals in Nashville in a case in which the Sumner County Board of Education argues that government entities do not have to accept a public records request sent by email. The case stems from a public records request made by citizen Kenneth Jakes in March 2014 to inspect the Sumner County Board of Education's public records policy. The school district denied the request, saying the method in which Jakes made the request -- by email and a followup phone call -- did not meet their requirements. Jakes was told he had to mail the request through the U.S. [...]

4 Oct, 2016

Metro Nashville must pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees in public records case

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T09:09:40-05:00October 4, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Alex Friedmann, attorneys' fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Judge Robert E. Lee Davies, Metro Nashville, promptly, public records request, traffic accident reports|0 Comments

Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered Metro Nashville to pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees to a public records requester, saying that the city "misinterpreted and ignored the 'promptness' requirement" in the Tennessee Public Records Act. Davies found the city was willful in not complying with the law, a requirement for awarding attorneys fees in a public records lawsuit. Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies orders Metro Nashville to pay attorneys fees in public records case that challenged the city's delay in releasing records. Plaintiff Bradley Jetmore filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming Metro Nashville's police department records division had begun delaying release of traffic reports after about [...]

2 Sep, 2016

Tennessee School Boards Association files amicus in Sumner Schools public records appeal

By Deborah Fisher|2019-12-19T14:23:57-06:00September 2, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Court of Appeals, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, Sumner County School Board, Tennessee School Boards Association|0 Comments

The Tennessee School Boards Association, which collects dues and represents nearly all school districts in the state, has filed an amicus with the Court of Appeals in a public records case against the Sumner County Board of Education. From left: Citizen Ken Jakes and Sumner Schools attorneys Todd Presnell and Jim Fuqua listen the judge's ruling that the school district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act. The Sumner County school district hopes to overturn a ruling by a judge that it violated the Tennessee Public Records Act when it refused to let citizen activist Ken Jakes see a copy of its public records policy. The school board argued that [...]

26 Aug, 2016

Judge says Nashville violated law by not providing public records promptly

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-04T07:45:21-05:00August 26, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Doug Pierce, Judge Robert E. Lee Davies, Metro Nashville, promptly, public records lawsuit, public records request|0 Comments

In what may be the first legal challenge to government delays on public records requests in Tennessee under a 2008 law, a judge has ruled that Metro Nashville violated the “prompt” provision in the statute by holding up traffic accident reports. Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered the city to provide access to the reports within 72 hours of their creation. He also found that Metro Nashville Police Department’s request form did not comply with the Public Records Act because it stated that the city had “seven business days to process” a records request, which is contrary to law. Many requesters, including journalists across the state, often complain that [...]

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 [...]