public records lawsuits Tennessee Archives - Page 15 of 20 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

31 Jul, 2015

Judge says Sumner County Schools denied public records request, but not willful

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T15:14:58-06:00July 31, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: attorneys' fees, Jeremy Johnson, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, litigation, public records request, Sumner County, Sumner County School Board, Todd Presnell|0 Comments

Sumner County Judge Dee David Gay said Thursday in preliminary findings that Sumner County Schools denied a public records request from open government advocate Ken Jakes, but that he heard no proof that showed the district was willful in its actions. Gay said he would make a final ruling in November on whether the school district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act when it denied Jakes' request on the basis that he did not follow the local district's requirement that he make the request in person or through the U.S. Postal Service. Jakes had emailed his request, following up with a voice mail, asking in March 2014 to inspect the [...]

26 Jun, 2015

Appeals Court reverses denial of attorney fees in public records case

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T15:08:36-06:00June 26, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Alex Friedmann, attorneys' fees, Chancellor J.B. Cox, Court of Appeals, Judge Arnold Goldin, Marshall County, Marshall County Sheriff Norman Dalton|0 Comments

The Court of Appeals in Nashville reversed a trial court ruling, and ordered attorney's fees be awarded to Alex Friedmann, managing editor of Prison Legal News, who sued the Marshall County Sheriff's Office after it refused to let him get copies of written jail policies and contracts unless he appeared in person. (Read the ruling: Alex Friedmann, et al. v. Marshall County, TN, et al.) Friedmann wrote a letter to the sheriff's department requesting copies under the Tennessee Public Records Act of certain jail policies and contracts. The sheriff's department told Friedmann that he would have to make his request in person. "This email does not deny Mr. Friedman[n] the records, [...]

29 May, 2015

Supreme Court case will decide public access to police files

By Deborah Fisher|2018-08-06T08:57:49-05:00May 29, 2015|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Janet Kleinfelter|0 Comments

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - News media organizations on Thursday asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to rule that some police records should be open to the public, even during an investigation and trial, while attorneys for the government argued that court rules put those records off-limits. The Tennessean requested police records involving former Vanderbilt football players charged in the 2013 rape of a fellow student in a campus dormitory. Metro Nashville Police denied the request and the newspaper sued, along with other news media organizations, including The Associated Press. At a Thursday hearing, government attorneys argued that a court rule protects evidence in a police file from public scrutiny until after [...]

2 Apr, 2015

Judge denies open records lawsuit against Haslam

By Deborah Fisher|2015-04-02T07:00:09-05:00April 2, 2015|Categories: economic development, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Bill Haslam, Brett Carter, Chancellor Carol McCoy, open records, Revenue Commissioner Richard Roberts, tax records|0 Comments

By ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press A tax attorney who sued for the release of records from Gov. Bill Haslam's administration related to a $350,000 analysis of business tax collections in Tennessee said Tuesday that he likely will appeal a judge's denial of his open records lawsuit. Attorney Brett Carter had filed the lawsuit in chancery court alleging a "willful" violation of the Tennessee Open Records Act over the state finance and revenue departments' refusal to disclose details about how they decided to draft the Revenue Modernization Act that Haslam has proposed to lawmakers this year. But Chancellor Carol McCoy on Monday denied Carter's lawsuit after reviewing some of the requested materials [...]

23 Mar, 2015

NFOIC and SPJ combine war chests to fight for Freedom of Information

By Deborah Fisher|2015-03-23T13:23:48-05:00March 23, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: litigation, NFOIC, SPJ, TCOG news|0 Comments

Joint press release from SPJ-NFOIC. (TCOG is a member of NFOIC): INDIANAPOLIS/Jefferson City - The Society of Professional Journalists and the National Freedom of Information Coalition are joining forces - and legal war chests - to help citizens and journalists fight for public records. The two groups will band together to help litigants who sue for access to government information. The NFOIC can provide court fees and SPJ help for attorney fees. Both organizations also will use their combined national networks of journalists and citizens to apply public pressure to government agencies that flaunt the law. "This is such an exciting collaborative project, one that will lend significant weight to [...]