public records lawsuits Tennessee Archives - Page 17 of 20 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

14 Jul, 2014

Lawsuit probes secrecy in economic development

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-26T05:06:58-06:00July 14, 2014|Categories: economic development, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: economic development records, Greene County, Herbert Moncier, litigation, open meetings violation|0 Comments

By Deborah Fisher Executive Director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government When government officials get into the business of economic development, they usually face the choice between transparency and secrecy. Too often, they choose secrecy. And sometimes the law allows it. At the state level, specific exemptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act give the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development broad latitude to keep confidential who they are talking with and incentives they are offering. Only after a deal is done, and the state has signed on the dotted line about how much money it has agreed to give a company in exchange for jobs, can the public [...]

11 Jun, 2014

Court of Appeals considers access to crime records in Tennessee
Gallery
Court of Appeals considers access to crime records in Tennessee

crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee

Court of Appeals considers access to crime records in Tennessee

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-02T10:35:57-06:00June 11, 2014|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Doug Pierce, Frank G. Clement Jr., Janet Kleinfelter, Maria De Varenne, Nashville, Richard Dinkins, Rick Hollow, Robb Harvey, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, Tennessee Press Association, The Tennessean, Vanderbilt rape case, W. Neal McBrayer|0 Comments

By Deborah Fisher, TCOG Executive Director Spectators packed the courtroom June 9 for oral arguments in the appeal of the public records case, The Tennessean et al v. Metro Government of Nashville. The petition was brought by The Tennessean and a media coalition after it requested to see crime records collected by police concerning an alleged rape at Vanderbilt University, and were denied access. So many people filled the rows of the appellate court that it prompted Judge Frank G. Clement to make a light note that the court usually doesn’t draw such a crowd. But the room quickly grew serious as lawyers began their arguments and the three appellate judges [...]

3 Jun, 2014

Newspapers, broadcasters file amicus briefs in public records case

By Deborah Fisher|2014-09-12T15:00:59-05:00June 3, 2014|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, Tennessee Press Association, Vanderbilt rape case|0 Comments

The Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Tennessee Press Association have both filed amicus briefs in the public records case on appeal involving police files of the Vanderbilt rape case. Representing broad swaths of media throughout the state, both make arguments that any exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act created by the Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(a)(2) is limited to records not discoverable by the defense under the rule. The rule governs what categories of police evidence the defense in a criminal trial is entitled to see, and what evidence they are not entitled to see. But in the years following a 1987 Tennessee Supreme Court Decision, Appman v. [...]

7 May, 2014

Behind the TSSAA ruling: Preserving public oversight over government functions
Gallery
Behind the TSSAA ruling: Preserving public oversight over government functions

functional equivalent, public records lawsuits Tennessee

Behind the TSSAA ruling: Preserving public oversight over government functions

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:11:33-06:00May 7, 2014|Categories: functional equivalent, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Claudia Bonnyman, Court of Appeals, Frank G. Clement Jr., functional equivalent, John Williams, litigation, non-government agencies, Southcomm, Steve Cavendish, The Commercial Appeal, TSSAA|1 Comment

An Appeals Court finds that regulating high school sports is a government function, so the regulator should be subject to open records law. Should the agency that regulates high school athletic competitions in Tennessee – making rules, conducting investigations, deciding eligibility and collecting millions of dollars in gate receipts – be subject to the same public scrutiny as public high schools and school boards? The Court of Appeals in Nashville said yes in a significant April 30 decision that opens up records of an organization that touches nearly every community in the state. The City Paper in Nashville two years ago sought records from the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s [...]

1 May, 2014

Appeals court: TSSAA subject to Public Records Act

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:11:53-06:00May 1, 2014|Categories: functional equivalent, public records lawsuits Tennessee, schools|Tags: Claudia Bonnyman, Court of Appeals, Frank G. Clement Jr., functional equivalent, litigation, schools, Southcomm, TSSAA|0 Comments

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association meets the standards of a "functional equivalent" of government and therefore is subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act, an appeals court in Nashville ruled today. The decision means the organization, which was created in 1925 and has an annual budget of $5 million, must abide by the same rules as government agencies when it comes to access to its records. Court of Appeals Judge Frank G. Clement Jr. The case arose in 2012 after TSSAA refused to give The City Paper records related to an investigation into tuition for athletes at Montgomery Bell Academy, arguing it was not subject to the [...]