Deputy Attorney General Janet Kleinfelter

5 Jan, 2023

Judge puts the brakes on state’s use of deliberative process privilege

By |2023-01-05T14:50:58-06:00January 5, 2023|Categories: deliberative process privilege, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Davidson County Chancellor Pat Moskal ruled that the state could not withhold consultant reports by McKinsey and Co. under a deliberative process privilege in the face of a public records request. She said the reports were a one-way communication with state officials and did not fall under a deliberative process privilege because they were not "deliberative" and did not consist of communications between high-level government officials. The ruling is a win for journalist Stephen Elliott, who began requesting the reports in 2020.

28 Jan, 2022

AG tells judge COVID-19 reports should be withheld to avoid ‘Monday-morning quarterbacking’

By |2022-01-28T19:06:29-06:00January 28, 2022|Categories: deliberative process privilege, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

The deputy attorney general for Tennessee argued in court this week that reports by consultant McKinsey and Co. regarding the re-opening of Tennessee and other government responses during the COVID-19 pandemic are exempt from the public records law because revealing them would open up the executive branch to second-guessing by the public.

16 Oct, 2018

Judge rules against Phil Williams saying public records can be withheld if relevant to an investigation

By |2019-03-25T16:42:24-05:00October 16, 2018|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Another blow was dealt to public records access in Tennessee this month when NewsChannel 5 lost a case in Chancery Court in Davidson County related to a recent controversy involving former TBI Director Jason Locke. Nashville investigative reporter Phil Williams had requested travel records, phone logs and credit card purchase summaries, among other records, after allegations arose that Locke had been conducting an affair with another state official using public resources. Around the same time of the public records request, the Davidson County district attorney began an investigation into the allegations. Though Williams had made his request to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and to [...]

6 Aug, 2018

NewsChannel 5 files suit after denied access to Jason Locke travel reimbursement records

By |2018-08-06T08:46:08-05:00August 6, 2018|Categories: investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

NewsChannel 5 has filed a public records lawsuit after it was denied access to travel reimbursement and phone records related to former acting TBI director Jason Locke's alleged affair with another state official. Jason Locke, former acting director of the TBI. A public records request for his travel reimbursements was denied on the basis that Locke was under criminal investigation. Locke is being investigated for misuse of state funds during an affair with another state official. The Nashville news station's chief investigative reporter Phil Williams also was denied access to email communications between Locke and the official, Sejal West, who was the deputy commission of the Tennessee Department of [...]

30 Jun, 2017

7-month quest for Gatlinburg fire records reflects poorly on state transparency

By |2018-08-06T08:50:37-05:00June 30, 2017|Categories: investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , |4 Comments

The November 2016 Gatlinburg fire killed 14 people and cost millions of dollars in damages. It was one of Tennessee’s worst disasters. A central question remains: Why did state and local officials wait so long to order an evacuation, until after the fire had already swept into residential areas? Some who lived through last-minute escapes have told news reporters that they had called 911 and were instructed it was safe to stay put. The answer to the evacuation question, and many others, could lay in the communication records and other post-fire reports held by state and local officials. But almost as soon as news organizations and citizens started requesting to [...]

Go to Top