Memphis Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

11 Sep, 2024

Tennessee is getting away with delaying access to public records, sometimes for years
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Tennessee is getting away with delaying access to public records, sometimes for years

public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests

Tennessee is getting away with delaying access to public records, sometimes for years

By Deborah Fisher|2024-09-11T14:16:43-05:00September 11, 2024|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Chancellor John Weaver, delays, John Becker, Marc Perrusquia, Memphis, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, WBIR|0 Comments

Late last year, the city of Memphis wrote a $7,419.68 check to reimburse the attorney fees of journalist Marc Perrusquia rather than risk losing a public records lawsuit. The city folded before the case got before a judge. Something similar happened this summer in Knoxville when University of Tennessee threw in the towel on the eve of a public hearing in a public records case after stalling for more than a year and half. Tennessee ranked 45th in complying with public records requests, according to one study. We need fewer delays and better compliance with the law.

2 May, 2022

Journalist sues Memphis to gain access to police performance improvement plans
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Journalist sues Memphis to gain access to police performance improvement plans

Public Records

Journalist sues Memphis to gain access to police performance improvement plans

By Deborah Fisher|2022-05-05T14:09:42-05:00May 2, 2022|Categories: Public Records|Tags: Local Legal Initiative, Marc Perrusquia, Memphis, Memphis Police, Paul McAdoo, performance improvement plans, personnel records, police records|0 Comments

Marc Perrusquia, a journalist whose reporting has exposed problems in the Memphis police department, has filed a lawsuit challenging the city's denial of access to documents that would show how the city responded to a history of trouble with three officers.

9 May, 2020

Memphis news group alleges First Amendment violation over media advisory list blacklisting

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T14:18:03-05:00May 9, 2020|Categories: Journalism|Tags: blacklist, First Amendment, Memphis, MLK50, Paul McAdoo, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Wendi Thomas|0 Comments

Nonprofit online news organization MLK50 in Memphis has told a federal judge overseeing a consent decree against the city that the city has violated its journalists' First Amendment rights and the court order by repeatedly refusing to add its editors to the city's media advisory list. The city of Memphis has refused to add MLK50 founder and editor Wendi Thomas to the media advisory list after taking her off in 2019. The city has complained she is not "objective" when it comes to her coverage of the mayor. In a letter written on May 4, attorney Paul McAdoo told U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla that the city of Memphis [...]

9 Apr, 2020

Memphis ordered to pay attorney’s fees for violating public records law over traffic accident reports

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T12:54:36-05:00April 9, 2020|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: attorney's fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Memphis, traffic accident reports|1 Comment

Memphis and Nashville have both lost public records lawsuits over the past two years in which they were found to willfully violate the public records law in not releasing traffic accident report information or delaying release. Combined, the cities had to pay more than $234,690 in attorney's fees and court costs to Bradley Jetmore, who brought the litigation. (Photo, public domain via Wikimedia) The City of Memphis in March was ordered to pay $107,687 in attorney's fees in a public records case in which it was found to willfully violate the law in redacting public information from traffic accident reports. It was the second case won by Bradley Jetmore involving [...]

16 Nov, 2018

Memphis considers using code names for companies getting economic development incentives

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T11:47:08-06:00November 16, 2018|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Al Bright, Commercial Appeal, economic development, EDGE, Memphis, Richard Smith, State Rep. Sam Whitson|0 Comments

The Economic and Development Growth Engine Board for Memphis (EDGE) is seeking at Attorney General's opinion on whether it can use code names to keep secret from the public the identity of companies before it votes to award the companies government cash grants and other economic development incentives. Al Bright chairman of the Memphis Economic Development and Growth Engine, said if using code names for companies when voting on cash grants and incentives instead of publicly disclosing identities would encourage more businesses to come to Memphis, "by all means, we need to do it." The attorney for the board told the Commercial Appeal (Companies seeking tax breaks from [...]