public records lawsuits Tennessee Archives - Page 7 of 20 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

9 Apr, 2020

Memphis ordered to pay attorney’s fees for violating public records law over traffic accident reports

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T12:54:36-05:00April 9, 2020|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: attorney's fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Memphis, traffic accident reports|1 Comment

Memphis and Nashville have both lost public records lawsuits over the past two years in which they were found to willfully violate the public records law in not releasing traffic accident report information or delaying release. Combined, the cities had to pay more than $234,690 in attorney's fees and court costs to Bradley Jetmore, who brought the litigation. (Photo, public domain via Wikimedia) The City of Memphis in March was ordered to pay $107,687 in attorney's fees in a public records case in which it was found to willfully violate the law in redacting public information from traffic accident reports. It was the second case won by Bradley Jetmore involving [...]

23 Feb, 2020

Lawsuit by Scoop Media Group challenges redaction of victim names

By Deborah Fisher|2021-01-11T16:55:23-06:00February 23, 2020|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Chancellor Laurence M. McMcMillan, crime records, Jason Steen, Montgomery County, Office of Open Records Council, Scoop Media|0 Comments

Update: Scoop Media won its public records case in August 2020. Montgomery County Chancellor Laurence M. McMillan ruled that T.C.A. § 4-38-111(i) does not make confidential the names and address of alleged victims of criminal conduct found in warrants and affidavits of complaints, but rather applies to identifying information about a victim obtained when the person requests notifications regarding the status of criminal proceedings. He ordered Montgomery County to stop redacting the information. However, he denied attorney's fees to Scoop Media because the Office of Open Records Counsel had advised Montgomery County that the confidentiality provision would "probably apply to domestic violence situations where an officer responds to a scene" [...]

23 Feb, 2020

Settlement requires Memphis Shelby Crime Commission to produce records

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:33:24-06:00February 23, 2020|Categories: functional equivalent, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: functional equivalent, MLK50, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, The Marshall Project|0 Comments

The Memphis Shelby Crime Commission has released records about its funding of the Memphis Police Department a year after a public records lawsuit. Wendi Thomas, founder of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, sued the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission over access to its records. Wendi Thomas, founder of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, and The Marshall Project argued that the crime commission was the "functional equivalent" of government because of its significant role in funding police and directing public safety policy in Memphis. Under Tennessee's "functional equivalent doctrine," a government entity cannot avoid disclosure under the state's Public Records Act by delegating its responsibilities to a private entity. Tennessee courts have used the [...]

19 Dec, 2019

Williamson County mother files public records suit against Tennessee School Boards Association

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:12:43-06:00December 19, 2019|Categories: functional equivalent, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Beacon Center, functional equivalent, Tennessee School Boards Association|0 Comments

A Williamson County mother, represented by the Beacon Center of Tennessee, has filed a public records lawsuit against the Tennessee School Boards Association after being denied access to the association's records. The lawsuit, Marren v. Tennessee School Boards Association, claims that the association is the "functional equivalent" of a government entity under the functional equivalent doctrine established by the Tennessee Supreme Court, and thus its records are subject to the Public Records Act. The school board association, in denying public records requests from Karrie Marren, claimed it was "a private, nonprofit organization" and was not subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act. Marren had requested: TSBA's training materials for school [...]

19 Dec, 2019

Public records case against Knox County sheriff showcases thorny problems for requesters

By Deborah Fisher|2019-12-19T14:52:48-06:00December 19, 2019|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Chancellor John Weaver, Knox County Sheriff, Meghan Conley, public records requests|1 Comment

A public records lawsuit filed in April against Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler appears to be lurching slowly toward resolution. After two days of a bench trial on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, Knox County Chancellor John F. Weaver gave attorneys until Jan. 13 to file final briefs and set Jan. 24 as the day for final arguments before the court. The case, Meghan Conley v. Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler, concerns several public records requests between August 2017 and March 2019. (See also the Memo in Support of Petition.) Conley, a University of Tennessee sociology professor, sought records related to the sheriff's participation in a 287(g) immigration enforcement program with [...]