Phil Williams Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

19 Aug, 2019

Court of Appeals reins in state’s expansive use of investigative exemption

By Deborah Fisher|2019-08-19T20:25:15-05:00August 19, 2019|Categories: investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Court of Appeals, Frank G. Clement Jr., investigative exemption, Janet Kleinfelter, Judge D. Michael Swiney, Judge Richard Dinkins, Phil Williams, TCOG news|1 Comment

The Tennessee Court of Appeals in a ruling on Friday put much-needed limits around the so-called investigative exemption that has been used by the state to cloak otherwise public records. "We hold that public records created in the ordinary course of business, which are non-investigative in nature, and which are otherwise accessible by Tennessee citizens under the TPRA (Tennessee Public Records Act), do not subsequently become exempt from disclosure because of the initiation of a criminal investigation in which those records become relevant," the Court ruled in Scripps Media, Inc. v. Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Williams requested travel, other ordinary public records from state News [...]

25 Mar, 2019

TCOG, Associated Press, Gannett, Sinclair, others file amicus brief in “investigative records” case

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-25T17:23:11-05:00March 25, 2019|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Chancellor Anne Martin, Court of Appeals, investigative exemption, NewsChannel 5, Paul McAdoo, Phil Williams, Tennessean v. Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County|1 Comment

Several news organizations and the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government have filed an amicus brief in a case under appeal in which ordinary public records were swept into an investigative file and then deemed confidential. The case, Scripps Media, Inc., v. Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and TBI, arose after Nashville NewsChannel 5 investigative reporter Phil Williams requested travel records, phone logs and credit card purchase summaries from the two state agencies. The agencies denied the request, citing the law enforcement "investigation" exemption. The records, they explained, had been requested by the district attorney as part of an investigation into potential misuse of funds. NewsChannel 5 [...]

9 Nov, 2018

TBI Director announces more transparency on internal investigations

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T14:25:42-06:00November 9, 2018|Categories: Public Records|Tags: David Rausch, Phil Williams, TBI|0 Comments

TBI Director David Rausch has announced that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will no longer shield from the public the outcomes of internal investigations into possible misconduct by its agents. TBI Director David Rausch Previously, if a member of the public complained about an agent's actions, the department would conduct an investigation, but claimed that those investigations were confidential under the public records law exemption that makes all TBI investigation documents confidential. "What I am doing is on our internal complaints that come from the public, we will make those an administrative investigation. And administrative investigations, when they are concluded, are open to public review," announced Rausch, who [...]

16 Oct, 2018

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

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-25T16:42:24-05:00October 16, 2018|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Chancellor Anne Martin, Deputy Attorney General Janet Kleinfelter, investigative exemption, Jason Locke, NewsChannel 5, Phil Williams, Ron Harris, TBI|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 [...]

11 Sep, 2018

Should reporters censor information from government proceedings? Of course not

By Deborah Fisher|2018-09-12T12:21:42-05:00September 11, 2018|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: court records, fair report privilege, Glenn Funk, libel law, Phil Williams, Tennessee Supreme Court|0 Comments

Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk (right) is suing NewsChannel 5 reporter Phil Williams (left), saying Williams' reporting damaged his reputation. The case is headed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in a test over the state's fair report privilege. The Tennessee Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Oct. 4 in an important case involving state libel laws and a free press. The appeal before the state’s highest court is a test of the state's fair report privilege. On a practical level, this privilege, which is recognized in every state’s laws, protects journalists from libel claims when they are reporting on official proceedings — such as court cases [...]

12 Next