crime victims Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

20 Jun, 2023

Release the Covenant crime records: An aware public can help stop additional attacks
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Release the Covenant crime records: An aware public can help stop additional attacks

crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee

Release the Covenant crime records: An aware public can help stop additional attacks

By Deborah Fisher|2023-06-21T09:22:43-05:00June 20, 2023|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Covenant parents, crime victims, The Covenant School shooting, victim rights|0 Comments

The mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville has led to an extraordinary legal battle over the public records law and transparency of our criminal justice system. The school, the church that owns the school and the parents of the schoolchildren are seeking to stop the public from seeing evidence collected by police in one of the most horrific crimes in Nashville in recent memory, saying that it would be too painful and inspire more school shootings.

25 May, 2023

Chancellor says victim rights warrant consideration in access to police records
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Chancellor says victim rights warrant consideration in access to police records

crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee

Chancellor says victim rights warrant consideration in access to police records

By Deborah Fisher|2023-05-25T10:18:56-05:00May 25, 2023|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Chancellor I'Ashea Myles, Covenant parents, crime victims, Marsy's Law, The Covenant School shooting, victim rights|0 Comments

A judge said victim rights in the Tennessee constitution and in statute warranted review as to whether they would block access to the writings of a mass shooter and other records collected by police in their investigation. She granted permission to parents of Covenant School children to intervene in a lawsuit to pursue the claim.

18 May, 2023

Sen. Gardenhire, Tennessean file public records lawsuits; Covenant parents seek to intervene
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Sen. Gardenhire, Tennessean file public records lawsuits; Covenant parents seek to intervene

crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee

Sen. Gardenhire, Tennessean file public records lawsuits; Covenant parents seek to intervene

By Deborah Fisher|2023-05-19T11:39:51-05:00May 18, 2023|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Audrey Hale, Brent Gibson, Covenant parents, Covenant Presbyterian Church, crime records, crime victims, Eric G. Osborne, Holland & Knight, manifesto, Mike Hagar, Robb Harvey, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, The Covenant School shooting, The Tennessean, Todd Gardenhire|0 Comments

The fight over the release of the Covenant School shooter's manifesto and other writings escalated Wednesday with state Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and The Tennessean filing a public records lawsuit against Metro Nashville, and unnamed Covenant School parents filing motions to intervene in the current cases. Also, Assistant Police Chief Mike Hagar and police Lt. Brent Gibson filed declarations that police are still trying to determine if the shooter had any assistance planning the shooting or purchasing the weapons, with Gibson stating that it will take about 12 months to finish the investigation.

15 May, 2017

New laws passed in 2017 affect access to public records

By Deborah Fisher|2022-01-10T10:22:19-06:00May 15, 2017|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings, Public Records, requests|Tags: addresses, audibility of public meeting, Bill Haslam, body cameras, bus safety complaints, crime victims, economic development records, electronic meetings, health care exams, lawmaker travel, police, requests by email, state parks, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. Darren Jernigan, State Sen. Doug Overbey, State Sen. Ken Yager, State Sen. Lee Harris, tax credits, TBI, TCOG news, Tennessee State Museum, vendors|0 Comments

TCOG Legislative Report 2017 Following is a summary of new laws affecting access to government information. They include 7 new exceptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act, 2 existing exemptions partially rolled back, 1 new law improving access to records in general, 1 new law creating criminal penalties for releasing certain confidential information, and 3 new laws improving government records for better accountability. 1 - Requiring acceptance of public records requests through email State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville, brought this legislation after an expensive legal dispute in her home county of Sumner County where the school district refused to accept public records requests by [...]