Knoxville News Sentinel Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

12 Feb, 2016

News Sentinel files lawsuit over sealed court documents in UT rape case

By Deborah Fisher|2016-06-02T11:20:40-05:00February 12, 2016|Categories: Open Courts, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: court records, Knoxville News Sentinel, sealed court records, search warrants, University of Tennessee rape case|0 Comments

The Knoxville News Sentinel filed a lawsuit today, after requesting for more than a year to inspect court records and exhibits in the aggravated rape cases against former Tennessee football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams. The newspaper claims that Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee sealed records "without any petition or order to do so." The newspaper was also told that Magistrate Ray H. Jenkins had sealed search warrant records, including a police investigator's affidavit. Following is an excerpt from the News-Sentinel's story, which you can read in full here: News Sentinel files lawsuit to unseal UT rape documents: The lawsuit argues that evidence can be sealed to protect the constitutional [...]

22 Feb, 2015

Editorial: Bills would keep citizens in dark on public records

By Deborah Fisher|2015-03-02T07:39:27-06:00February 22, 2015|Categories: exemptions, fees|Tags: fees for public records, Knoxville News Sentinel, legislature, performance evaluations, TSSAA|0 Comments

Awesome editorial about need for transparency and accountability in government by Knoxville News Sentinel, reprinted here with permission: Three bills now pending in the Tennessee Legislature would combine to cripple the public's access to government records. One would make citizens pay to see official documents. Another would prevent the public from reviewing state employee performance evaluations. The third would shield from scrutiny the organization that regulates school sports statewide. The bills' sponsors and other lawmakers should reconsider these proposals in the context of transparency and accountability. One bill being pushed by the Tennessee School Boards Association would allow state and local government agencies to charge citizens a fee to inspect [...]

12 Feb, 2015

TBI files can be secret even when entered as evidence, Criminal Appeals Court says

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-09T08:21:53-06:00February 12, 2015|Categories: court records, crime records|Tags: Court of Criminal Appeals, court records, Herbert Moncier, Judge Timothy Easter, Knoxville News Sentinel, sealed court records, TBI|0 Comments

Last week, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Tennessee Bureau of Investigation files could remain confidential even when they are entered as evidence in a court trial. The case in which this came up involved the heinous murder of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23, who were kidnapped, raped and tortured in Knoxville in 2007. The guilty verdicts in the trial were put in question when the presiding judge, Richard Baumgartner, became subject to a TBI probe related to buying prescription drug painkillers from two felons. Defense attorneys sought new trials, and parts of the TBI investigation were entered into the judicial proceeding. The parents of the victims intervened, [...]

13 Jan, 2015

TVA denies News Sentinel appeal to release incentives for auto-parts maker

By Deborah Fisher|2015-01-13T10:31:31-06:00January 13, 2015|Categories: economic development|Tags: economic development records, FOIA Exemption 5, Knoxville News Sentinel, public records, TVA, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr.|0 Comments

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that TVA has rejected the newspaper's appeal to reveal the incentives given to a South Korean company to expand its auto-parts manufacturing plant in Clinton. The contract for the incentives is already signed, and the deal is done, but the government-owned utility said it would hurt its competitive advantage if it revealed how much money it gave SL Tennessee. Here is an excerpt from the story, written by reporter Bob Fowler, which can be found online at knoxnews.com. At issue is what types of lures TVA dangled before a South Korean company — SL Tennessee — in exchange for its announcement last summer that it [...]

3 Dec, 2014

News Sentinel: Congressman blasts TVA for refusing to disclose subsidies

By Deborah Fisher|2014-12-03T16:32:07-06:00December 3, 2014|Categories: economic development|Tags: Knoxville News Sentinel, TVA, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr.|0 Comments

TVA's refusal to release how much it gave a South Korean auto parts maker in economic subsidies to locate in Clinton, Tennessee, has drawn fire from a congressman. The Knoxville News Sentinel made a public records request under the Freedom of Information Act for TVA documents that would outline the economic incentives for SL Tennessee, but the government utility refused to release them, saying it would harm their competitive position with other utilities who also recruit industry. In a story posted on its website today, the News Sentinel quotes U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. questioning why TVA would keep the deal secret, and even the wisdom of the incentives themselves. [...]