court records

26 Apr, 2016

15 decisions on public records by the Tennessee Legislature in 2016

By |2018-11-09T08:23:32-06:00April 26, 2016|Categories: court records, crime records, exemptions, fees, Legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel, requests|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

This year, Tennessee lawmakers punted on public records bills that could have created new access rights to see police body camera video and files of finished investigations into officer-involved shootings. But they did pass several new laws — some that exempted more government information from public view, and others that hold promise for improving government transparency. Following is a roundup of action by the Tennessee Legislature related to public records and access. 1- Police body cameras: After a late-in-session effort to pass a body camera bill and disagreement among stakeholders, the House State Government Committee instructed the Advisory Committee on Open Government to study the issue and provide them with [...]

12 Feb, 2015

TBI files can be secret even when entered as evidence, Criminal Appeals Court says

By |2018-11-09T08:21:53-06:00February 12, 2015|Categories: court records, crime records|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

Last week, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Tennessee Bureau of Investigation files could remain confidential even when they are entered as evidence in a court trial. The case in which this came up involved the heinous murder of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23, who were kidnapped, raped and tortured in Knoxville in 2007. The guilty verdicts in the trial were put in question when the presiding judge, Richard Baumgartner, became subject to a TBI probe related to buying prescription drug painkillers from two felons. Defense attorneys sought new trials, and parts of the TBI investigation were entered into the judicial proceeding. The parents of the victims intervened, [...]

3 Feb, 2015

Judge seals evidence from Vanderbilt rape trial

By |2015-02-03T05:49:30-06:00February 3, 2015|Categories: court records|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

The Tennessean reports that Judge Monte Watkins, in an unusual move, has sealed all evidence presented in the recent Vanderbilt rape trial of two former football players. An excerpt from the story: It is the third ruling in the case prohibiting increasingly more information from public disclosure. The newest order says it is "reasonable and appropriate" to seal all evidence that was presented during the 12-day trial. More than 75 exhibits — from text messages to clothing to computers — were presented during the trial, which was open to the public. Judge Monte Watkins signed the expanded order on Wednesday, one day after Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, both 21, [...]

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