The University of Memphis has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have required public records requestors who took pictures of public records to hand over their phone so the university could check it for what they photographed and would have allowed the university to charge the person a "production cost" even though the university itself did not produce the copies.
The Memphis city shelter has decided to no longer disclose medical treatment records of the animals in its care upon a public records request, claiming animals have a right to privacy over their medical records.
A citizen cannot be thrown out of a public meeting simply because he or she offends, antagonizes or harshly criticizes a governing body or members of a governing body during public comment period, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said this month.
A federal district judge is scheduled to hold a bench trial in Nashville late this summer to decide if a ban on livestreaming meetings of the Montgomery County Commission violates the First Amendment. His decision could turn on whether the ban is narrowly tailored enough to address the government’s concern about security of commission chambers.
In the last redistricting a decade ago, citizens in Tennessee had about one week to review proposed new legislative maps before they were adopted. That's not enough time. The maps should be made available earlier so that citizens can review them and offer feedback before they are a done deal. [...]
