Pics from “Judges and Journalists” event
A link to pictures from recent event by the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on courts and the media. Among discussion topics: sealed records, closed court Continue...
View ArticleKnox County judge reverses camera ban in courtroom
The Knoxville News Sentinel and WBIR challenged a camera ban in the courtroom of a newly elected chancellor, and got a reversal. The judge had refused the newspaper’s request to photograph Continue...
View ArticleRamsey, Ashe call for more transparency in the Tennessee Attorney General...
Tennessee’s lieutenant governor and a former mayor of Knoxville have called for more transparency in the Tennessee Supreme Court’s selection of the Attorney General. Bob Cooper currently holds the...
View ArticleJudge seals evidence from Vanderbilt rape trial
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 Continue...
View ArticleTBI files can be secret even when entered as evidence, Criminal Appeals Court...
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 Continue...
View ArticleTBA urges change in proposed rules for media coverage in courtrooms
The Tennessee Bar Association applauded the Tennessee Supreme Court’s initiative to update its rules on media coverage in courtrooms in comments filed Thursday, but suggested changes to the court’s...
View ArticleTCOG urges Tennessee Supreme Court to allow journalists to use electronic...
PRESS RELEASE For immediate release Aug. 3, 2015 Contacts: Lucian T. Pera, vice president, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (901) 524-5278, lucian.pera@arlaw.com Deborah Fisher, executive...
View ArticleBroadcasters, others comment on Rule 30 proposal
Tennessee broadcasters and others have filed comments with the Tennessee Supreme Court on its proposed changes to Rule 30, which governs media coverage in courtrooms. The deadline to file comments...
View ArticleNew Sumner County Court rules; Today is deadline for Rule 30 comments
Monday, Aug. 17 UPDATE – Local journalist Sonya Thompson, editor of the Portland Leader, reached out to the Sumner County courts last week to clarify whether media could bring smart phones Continue...
View ArticleNews Sentinel files lawsuit over sealed court documents in UT rape case
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 Continue...
View ArticleKnox County judge refuses to lift his seal on court records in UT case
Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee refused this week a request by the Knoxville News Sentinel to lift the seal on court records entered in the case of former University Continue Reading...
View ArticleMemphis Bar Association to host deep dive into Darrius Stewart police...
The Memphis Bar Association is hosting “Covering Police-Involved Shootings: A Deep Dive into the Darrius Stewart Case” on Sept. 28 as part of a daylong program bringing together journalists, lawyers...
View Article15 decisions on public records by the Tennessee Legislature in 2016
This year, Tennessee lawmakers punted on public records bills that could have created new access rights to see police body camera video and files of finished investigations into officer-involved...
View ArticleProposed rule change could erode access to court records, lawyers say
Some of the state’s leading news media attorneys are concerned that a proposed expansion of rules on public access to court records in Tennessee is overly broad and could erode Continue Reading...
View ArticleWill Purdue Pharma be able to keep Tennessee’s opioid lawsuit sealed?
The lawsuit by the state of Tennessee against Purdue Pharma in a Knoxville Circuit Court yesterday was filed under “temporary” seal to allow the company time to seek a protective Continue Reading...
View ArticleTCOG, KNS file motion to intervene to keep records open in state’s lawsuit...
NEWS from Tennessee Coalition for Open Government: We have filed, along with Jack McElroy, editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, a motion to intervene in the state’s opioid lawsuit against Continue...
View ArticleColumn: Opioid trial must be completely open
In 2007, the state of Tennessee and 25 other states reached a $19.5 million settlement agreement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, who they alleged was violating consumer laws in Continue Reading...
View ArticleOxyContin maker Purdue withdraws effort to close parts of state’s lawsuit
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has withdrawn its motion for a protective order to conceal parts of the state of Tennessee’s lawsuit against it that contains allegations and evidence of unlawful Continue...
View ArticleState’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma – unsealed
Detailed data in the state’s opioid lawsuit illustrate how Purdue Pharma continued to push its most profitable drug OxyContin to high-volume providers in Tennessee despite evidence that those providers...
View ArticleTennessee Supreme Court begins video of oral arguments
The Tennessee Supreme Court this week began a new program to videotape oral arguments of its cases and to post them on its website for the public to see. This Continue Reading Tennessee Coalition for...
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