Quick take on open government wins, losses at 2024 legislature
Lawmakers handed open government some wins and losses during the session that ended Thursday. Among the wins was a bill by state Rep. Susan Lynn to add muscle to the Sunshine Law by allowing recovery...
View ArticleDelaying access to public records violates law, appeals court rules
Government entities cannot ignore the requirement in the Tennessee Public Records Act to provide access to records promptly and still be in compliance with the law, according to an appellate court...
View ArticleSumner County School Board blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad...
The Sumner County Board of Education blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice that led it on a journey of spending almost $250,000 of taxpayer money to defend, then appeal, a public...
View ArticleAppellate court reverses trial court, upholds attorney fee provision in...
The Court of Appeals on Thursday found a Lynnville city recorder was willful in denying a citizen access to inspect public records when she required an upfront $150, and remanded the case back to...
View ArticleMetro Nashville must pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees in public records case
Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered Metro Nashville to pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees to a public records requester, saying that the city "misinterpreted and ignored the 'promptness'...
View ArticleWhat we learned from a citizen’s fight for public records in Sumner County
Judge Dee David Gay reads his ruling that the Sumner County Board of Education violated the Tennessee Public Records Act because it went too far in restricting how citizens could make requests. The...
View ArticleWhy did Tennessee rank 37th in public access to information?
Tennessee ranked 37th among states in public access to information in the Center for Public Integrity’s 2015 State Integrity report released on Monday. I was among those who contributed information for...
View ArticleJudge says Sumner County Schools denied public records request, but not willful
Sumner County Judge Dee David Gay said Thursday in preliminary findings that Sumner County Schools denied a public records request from open government advocate Ken Jakes, but that he heard no proof...
View ArticleAppeals Court reverses denial of attorney fees in public records case
The Court of Appeals in Nashville reversed a trial court ruling, and ordered attorney's fees be awarded to Alex Friedmann, managing editor of Prison Legal News, who sued the Marshall County Sheriff's...
View ArticleChattanooga contests paying $74,427 in legal fees after losing Sunshine Law case
The city of Chattanooga is contesting legal fees awarded to a citizen who sued and won over a violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, Chattanoogan.com reported Sunday. Helen Burns Sharp, who sued...
View ArticleCitizen wins attorneys fees in Chattanooga Open Meetings case
Chancellor Pamela Fleenor on Friday issued an order awarding attorney fees, expenses and other costs to citizen Helen Burns Sharp who sued the city of Chattanooga's industrial development board over a...
View ArticleAre addresses and phone numbers in accident reports confidential?
Are address and phone numbers in accident reports confidential? A Memphis judge on June 6 said no in Bradley Jetmore v. City of Memphis, affirming that such information is public record Continue...
View ArticleChattanooga contests paying $74,427 in legal fees after losing Sunshine Law case
The city of Chattanooga is contesting legal fees awarded to a citizen who sued and won over a violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, Chattanoogan.com reported Sunday. Helen Burns Sharp brought...
View ArticleDelaying access to public records violates law, appeals court rules
Government entities cannot ignore the requirement in the Tennessee Public Records Act to provide access to records promptly and still be in compliance with the law, according to an appellate Continue...
View ArticleSumner County School Board blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad...
The Sumner County Board of Education blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice that led it on a journey of spending almost $250,000 of taxpayer money to Continue Reading Tennessee...
View ArticleMetro Nashville must pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees in public records case
Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered Metro Nashville to pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees to a public records requester, saying that the city “misinterpreted and ignored the ‘promptness’ Continue...
View ArticleWhat we learned from a citizen’s fight for public records in Sumner County
At a cost of about three or four college educations at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Sumner County’s school officials and school board just got educated about the state’s public records...
View ArticleWhy did Tennessee rank 37th in public access to information?
Tennessee ranked 37th among states in public access to information in the Center for Public Integrity’s 2015 State Integrity report released on Monday. I was among those who contributed information for...
View ArticleJudge says Sumner County Schools denied public records request, but not willful
Sumner County Judge Dee David Gay said Thursday in preliminary findings that Sumner County Schools denied a public records request from open government advocate Ken Jakes, but that he heard Continue...
View ArticleAppeals Court reverses denial of attorney fees in public records case
The Court of Appeals in Nashville reversed a trial court ruling, and ordered attorney’s fees be awarded to Alex Friedmann, managing editor of Prison Legal News, who sued the Marshall Continue Reading...
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