News - Page 64 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

3 Feb, 2017

DA’s shutdown of public records on Gatlinburg fire goes too far

By Deborah Fisher|2018-08-06T08:51:44-05:00February 3, 2017|Categories: investigative exemption, Public Records|Tags: crime records, Gatlinburg fire, investigation exemption, juvenile court, Sevier County District Attorney Jimmy Dunn, TEMA|1 Comment

On Dec. 15, the district attorney for Sevier County issued a remarkable letter. In the most horrific disaster to ever afflict Gatlinburg, a firestorm on Nov. 28 swept into the city, killed 14 people, caused 191 injuries, and amid harrowing escapes to safety, damaged or destroyed 2,400 structures. Insurance claims have neared $1 billion. A woman looks over the rubble of her home in Gatlinburg on Dec. 3 (Source: Knoxville News Sentinel) But how government responded to the emergency — or in fact anything related to the Gatlinburg fire and the aftermath — is, in Sevier County District Attorney Jimmy Dunn’s opinion, part of a criminal investigation into [...]

20 Jan, 2017

Office of Open Records Counsel finalizes model public records policy

By Deborah Fisher|2017-01-20T16:56:25-06:00January 20, 2017|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, requests|Tags: fees for public records, model public records policy, Office of Open Records Counsel, photos of public records, public records requests|1 Comment

The Office of Open Records Counsel has published a new model public records policy that can be used by government entities in establishing records policies, which are required by law this year. A new law mandates that all government entities in the state establish a public records policy by July 1, 2017. The policies must include the name of entity's public records request coordinator and include information about requesting public records and any fees. Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth The model policy developed by the Open Records Counsel, along with updated Best Practices & Guidelines, includes many of the same principles and advice given previously by the office. But [...]

21 Dec, 2016

Ohio Supreme Court finds delayed release of body camera footage “reasonable”

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-21T09:49:04-06:00December 21, 2016|Categories: crime records|Tags: Ohio Supreme Court, police body cameras|0 Comments

The Ohio Supreme Court, which recently ruled that not all police records fall under the state's investigatory exemption, ruled this week in a separate case about body camera footage in a police shooting. The court found that the district attorney's release of body camera footage after the indictment of a police officer was reasonable. In all, the district attorney withheld the body camera footage for six business days. Read the ruling. From Cleveland.com: Hamilton County officials were within the law to withhold body camera footage for six business days after a University of Cincinnati police officer fatally shot a man during a traffic stop, the state's highest court ruled Tuesday. But [...]

20 Dec, 2016

Nashville police chief publicly blasts DA spokesman who released name of alleged rape victim

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-20T13:47:03-06:00December 20, 2016|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Ken Whitehouse, sexual assault records, Steve Anderson, WSMV-TV|1 Comment

The Nashville Police Chief publicly blasted a spokesman in the District Attorney's office for releasing a police incident report to a TV station that contained the name of a housekeeping employee who reported she was raped in a Bridgestone Arena bathroom. The woman later gave an on-camera interview to WSMV-TV Channel 4, saying she wanted to tell her story and was upset after learning that the co-worker who she said attacked her was a registered sex offender. "They should screen sex offenders, murderers, anybody (before employing them)," she told the TV station. Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson Police Chief Steve Anderson said that releasing the name of the alleged rape victim [...]

20 Dec, 2016

House Republican caucus meetings to be open unless it’s “family discussion”, chairman says

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-20T11:45:57-06:00December 20, 2016|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: House Republican caucus, legislature, State Rep. Ryan Williams, Tennessee Capitol Press Corps|1 Comment

House Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan Williams told the Capitol Hill press corps last week that caucus meetings would be presumed to be open while the legislature is in session, according to a report in The Tennessean. However, he said, if a member wanted to have a "family discussion," the caucus would take a vote on closing the meeting. State Rep. Ryan Williams The meeting with the press corps came after the House caucus, departing from tradition, held a closed door session in early December to discuss the state budget surplus and the fires in Sevier County. The press corps asked to discuss what appeared to be a new [...]