The Tennessean Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

3 Feb, 2015

Judge seals evidence from Vanderbilt rape trial

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-03T05:49:30-06:00February 3, 2015|Categories: court records|Tags: Judge Monte Watkins, protective order, Robb Harvey, sealed court records, The Tennessean, Vanderbilt rape case|0 Comments

The Tennessean reports that Judge Monte Watkins, in an unusual move, has sealed all evidence presented in the recent Vanderbilt rape trial of two former football players. An excerpt from the story: It is the third ruling in the case prohibiting increasingly more information from public disclosure. The newest order says it is "reasonable and appropriate" to seal all evidence that was presented during the 12-day trial. More than 75 exhibits — from text messages to clothing to computers — were presented during the trial, which was open to the public. Judge Monte Watkins signed the expanded order on Wednesday, one day after Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, both 21, [...]

19 Jan, 2015

Tennessee Supreme Court agrees to hear public records case involving police files

By Deborah Fisher|2015-01-19T10:30:15-06:00January 19, 2015|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: crime records, Lauren Sturm, Nashville, Robb Harvey, Tennessee Supreme Court, The Tennessean, Vanderbilt rape case|0 Comments

The Tennessee Supreme Court has granted the application of The Tennessean and other media organizations to appeal a Court of Appeals decision regarding what police records are exempt from the Tennessee Public Records Act. In a Sept. 30 ruling, the Court of Appeals said that Criminal Court Rule 16(a)(2) acts as an exemption to allow police to withhold records relevant to an ongoing investigation. The opinion was written by Judge Richard Dinkins and joined by Judge Frank G. Clement Jr. and reversed a trial court ruling that police must release some records. A dissent was written by Judge Neal McBrayer, who said that the criminal court rule exempted some records, [...]

13 Jan, 2015

The Tennessean gives state Tuesday deadline to fulfill July public records request

By Deborah Fisher|2015-01-13T12:58:59-06:00January 13, 2015|Categories: requests|Tags: public records request, Robb Harvey, TennCare, The Tennessean|0 Comments

The Tennessean gave the state a Tuesday deadline to fulfill a public records request it originally made in July last year as it considers asking a court to intervene, the newspaper reported today. The news organization had requested from TennCare emails and documents related to the state's massive Medicaid debacle in which it could not properly process applications despite buying a $35.7 million new computer system. (The backlog led to a federal lawsuit, and the agency yesterday said it was firing its vendor Northrop Grumman, and hiring another one.) After narrowing the request in September, the newspaper got an estimate of $4,139.56 for costs to compile and copy the records, which [...]

6 Oct, 2014

Dinkins opinion in public records case expands police secrecy powers
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Dinkins opinion in public records case expands police secrecy powers

crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee

Dinkins opinion in public records case expands police secrecy powers

By Deborah Fisher|2014-10-07T12:07:44-05:00October 6, 2014|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: crime records, Judge Neal McBrayer, Judge Richard Dinkins, police secrecy, The Tennessean|1 Comment

The Court of Appeals in Nashville last week kicked the can farther down the wrong road when it expanded police powers so they could keep just about anything and everything they want secret from citizens. Judge Richard Dinkins of the Court of Appeals, Nashville Specifically, Judge Richard Dinkins said that if your local police or sheriff’s department claims information is relevant to an ongoing investigation, they should be able to keep that information confidential. As police have concluded across the state when refusing to release basic documents about crime, “under investigation” covers almost everything they do. It’s not a harmless power to hand over. News media has been [...]

1 Oct, 2014

The Tennessean: Judges block access to Vandy rape case records

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-02T12:29:13-06:00October 1, 2014|Categories: crime records|Tags: crime records, Judge Neal McBrayer, Judge Richard Dinkins, The Tennessean|0 Comments

The Court of Appeals at Nashville ruled against the media coalition seeking police records in the Vanderbilt rape case, reversing the trial court that had granted access. Judge Richard Dinkins wrote the opinion, with Frank G. Clement joining (Dinkins opinion here). Judge W. Neal McBrayer dissented (McBrayer opinion here). Here is a link to The Tennessean's story online: Judge blocks access to Vanderbilt rape case records