News - Page 70 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

2 Sep, 2016

Tennessee School Boards Association files amicus in Sumner Schools public records appeal

By Deborah Fisher|2019-12-19T14:23:57-06:00September 2, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Court of Appeals, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, Sumner County School Board, Tennessee School Boards Association|0 Comments

The Tennessee School Boards Association, which collects dues and represents nearly all school districts in the state, has filed an amicus with the Court of Appeals in a public records case against the Sumner County Board of Education. From left: Citizen Ken Jakes and Sumner Schools attorneys Todd Presnell and Jim Fuqua listen the judge's ruling that the school district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act. The Sumner County school district hopes to overturn a ruling by a judge that it violated the Tennessee Public Records Act when it refused to let citizen activist Ken Jakes see a copy of its public records policy. The school board argued that [...]

2 Sep, 2016

Sam Kennedy to be inducted into national Open Government Hall of Fame

By Deborah Fisher|2016-09-05T10:13:29-05:00September 2, 2016|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|1 Comment

Sam Kennedy A former Tennessee Press Association president, judge, district attorney, newspaper editor and publisher has been become the 16th inductee into the State Open Government Hall of Fame. Selected by a panel from the National Freedom of Information Coalition and Society of Professional Journalists, Sam D. Kennedy becomes another member of the “Heroes of the Fifty States” for his work to promote open government and transparency. For more than half a century, Kennedy has been a First Amendment proponent and active FOI advocate of Tennessee state and local government. Throughout his long career, he served the public in many capacities including positions spanning journalism, law and county [...]

26 Aug, 2016

Judge says Nashville violated law by not providing public records promptly

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-04T07:45:21-05:00August 26, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Doug Pierce, Judge Robert E. Lee Davies, Metro Nashville, promptly, public records lawsuit, public records request|0 Comments

In what may be the first legal challenge to government delays on public records requests in Tennessee under a 2008 law, a judge has ruled that Metro Nashville violated the “prompt” provision in the statute by holding up traffic accident reports. Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered the city to provide access to the reports within 72 hours of their creation. He also found that Metro Nashville Police Department’s request form did not comply with the Public Records Act because it stated that the city had “seven business days to process” a records request, which is contrary to law. Many requesters, including journalists across the state, often complain that [...]

15 Aug, 2016

Poll: Tennesseans universally support access to police body camera footage in cases of death and injury

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:57:04-05:00August 15, 2016|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, crime records, legislature, police body cameras, TBI|1 Comment

NASHVILLE — About 9 in 10 Tennesseans (89%) support public access to police body camera video when it records use of force that results in a citizen’s serious injury or death, according to a new poll by icitizen in collaboration with the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. The support crosses partisan, age and regional lines. The results demonstrate strong citizen agreement that such video be disclosed to the public. In addition, a clear majority of voters (57%) believe the public has a right to see video of officer-involved shootings before an investigation is finished. About one-third (35%) oppose giving the public access before an investigation is finished (8% are unsure). “While it [...]

13 Jul, 2016

Jeremy Durham investigation committee banks on the power of transparency

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:56:44-05:00July 13, 2016|Categories: Legislature, Public Records|Tags: Jeremy Durham, Russell Perkins|0 Comments

The special House committee investigating allegations of sexual harassment by state House Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, did the right thing today in releasing its findings. The investigative report, which the committee posted online, is the outcome of a months-long investigation by Attorney General Herbert Slatery at the request of the committee. It included 78 interviews, 22 of them with women who described encounters with Durham. Durham's attorney tried to get an injunction to stop the release of the report, but Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins said it was in the public's interest for the report to be released and denied the request. The media rushes to pick up copies of [...]