state records Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

19 Oct, 2020

ACOG subcommittee to meet on Friday to review college president search confidentiality

By Deborah Fisher|2020-10-19T13:29:07-05:00October 19, 2020|Categories: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Legislature, state records|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, college president selection, University of Tennessee|1 Comment

A subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Open Government will meet on Friday to review a 2018 change in the law that expanded confidentiality for college president candidates at state colleges. The subcommittee will meet at 3 p.m. Friday via a Webex conference call. The public may attend with this link. The subcommittee has been asked to discuss the effectiveness of the 2018 amendment to the higher education executive search statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-154) in preparation of a report from ACOG to the governor and speakers of the House and Senate. 2018 law expanded confidentiality of finalist candidates In 2018, the Legislature expanded the confidentiality of college president [...]

12 Aug, 2014

Appeals Court hears arguments on reach of execution drug secrecy

By Deborah Fisher|2014-08-12T09:58:01-05:00August 12, 2014|Categories: execution drugs|Tags: Andy Bennett, Appeals Court, Claudia Bonnyman, execution drugs, Kyle Hixon, litigation|0 Comments

The Tennessean covered the arguments before the Court of Appeals Monday concerning an exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act passed in 2013 that makes the source of execution drugs confidential. Lawyers for death row inmates sought to have the source revealed to them so they could examine whether the source was safe and legal, and whether it would violate inmate rights to be free of cruel and unusual punishment. Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ordered the information released to the lawyers under seal. The state is appealing Bonnyman's ruling. An excerpt from reporter Brian Haas' story: The appeals panel Monday seemed skeptical of Hixson's arguments, pressing him on whether the 2013 law applied [...]

4 Jun, 2014

Update: Chattanooga judges release job applications after AG’s advice

By Deborah Fisher|2017-01-06T15:26:27-06:00June 4, 2014|Categories: Attorney General Opinions, state records|Tags: AG opinion, Chancellor Frank Brown, Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton, Chattanooga, open records, Times Free Press|0 Comments

Hamilton County Chancellor Jeffery Atherton Hamilton County Chancellor Frank Brown In a story being followed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, two judges who had denied the newspaper access to job applications for the county's Clerk and Master position reversed course and released the documents. The judges had originally told the Times Free Press that even if the applications were public records, they thought the privacy of the applicants "outweigh the public's right to know." They then sealed the records by issuing a court order in a highly unusual move considering there was no current litigation before them in which they had jurisdiction to issue an [...]

23 May, 2014

Hamilton County judges say privacy of job applicants outweighs Public Records Act

By Deborah Fisher|2014-05-23T15:10:53-05:00May 23, 2014|Categories: state records|Tags: Chancellor Frank Brown, Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton, Chattanooga, open records, Times Free Press|0 Comments

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports today about an unusual move by two Hamilton County judges to seal information about applicants to that county's Clerk and Master position, issuing an order without any pending litigation before their courts. The newspaper had requested a list of applicants to the $103,795 job, which is appointed by the judges as one of their administrative duties. At first, one of the judges, Chancellor W. Frank Brown, responded to the request saying the court does not believe the public has a right to names, and media should offer the same confidentiality to candidates for the clerk and master post that it gives to victims of [...]

15 May, 2014

Missouri media file lawsuit over secrecy of execution drugs

By Deborah Fisher|2014-05-15T17:17:36-05:00May 15, 2014|Categories: execution drugs|Tags: execution drugs, litigation|0 Comments

The issue of secrecy surrounding the source of execution drugs is heating up in the wake of some botched executions. The Associated Press joined other Missouri newspapers in challenging that state's insistence that its laws allow the corrections department to keep the source of the drug secret. Here's a rundown on the litigation in Missouri. TCOG first wrote about the secrecy of execution drugs in December, eight months after the Tennessee Legislature passed a bill to make the source of drugs confidential, along with the already confidential name of the medical personnel involved in the execution. Since then, the secrecy issue has become national. The Tennessee Legislature in the most [...]