After a challenge from WBIR in Knoxville, Meigs County Judge Casey Stokes reversed his closure of court proceedings and records in a juvenile murder case, opening future proceedings and access to most documents, including transcripts of previous hearings. WBIR reported on Monday the more detailed allegations against the 15-year-old revealed in the newly released court records:| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Former Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent Marie Feagins appears in circuit court July 22. (Photo by Patrick Lantrip reprinted with permission from The Daily Memphian) The former Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent, Marie Feagins, pressed her case in court Tuesday that the school board violated the| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Many governments have adopted rigid rules for accessing public records Summary: A 2017-2018 public records policy audit by Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has found that many governmental bodies have adopted rigid rules and hurdles that threaten to slow down or thwart access to public records. Most policies require a driver's license as a| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
A judge found that the Chattanooga City Council violated the Open Meetings Act in developing its new voting district maps in 2021 and 2022. The city's arguments that closed meetings were simply "informational" and contained no deliberations or decision-making was refuted by evidence that included council members own comments about the process. In addition, the judge found that serial meetings held by city staff with each council member to get approval of a proposed map before presenting it in...| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
The framers of the Declaration of Independence believed everyone should think for themselves and we don't have to rely on a "minister of truth" to command our thoughts and expression. In this column, Larry Burris reminds us of the phrases in the Declaration of Independence that put the people ultimately in charge in the government and the need of the people to have information about government to keep themselves informed. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Tennessee is not tracking how many of its new education vouchers to attend private schools go to students already in private schools as opposed to those in public schools. It stands alone among states in preventing that information from reaching the public and keeps hidden an important policy outcome in the program. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
If the people are to have control over their government — and not the other way around — people need access to information and details about how government is working. Tennessee's recent payment of $1.5 billion in "refunds" to businesses deserved more transparency, most especially around the people and specifics that drove the decision. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Eugene Volokh, a well-known lawyer, podcaster and author in First Amendment circles, has filed a lawsuit against the Williamson County Circuit Court Clerk and the county's archive department alleging that its application of the Tennessee Public Records Act violates constitutional and common law rights to access court records. Williamson County denied Volokh's request for certain court| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
TCOG released today its 2025 Legislative Report that examines 18 new laws related to the Tennessee Open Meetings and Public Records acts. You can view all past annual legislative reports on our Legislative Reports and Research page. For the record, the 114th General Assembly in 2025 created more exemptions to the Open| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
An advisory board that could oversee the Memphis Shelby County School Board, including influence over removing school board members, would be given an exemption to the Open Meetings Act under the Senate version of a bill that will be voted upon today. Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, is sponsoring SB714 that would allow the state to| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
More than two years after a shooter blasted into the Covenant School in Nashville and killed six people, including three third-graders, the Metro Nashville Police Department on April 2 released a 48-page investigative case summary officially announcing the end of the case. Records of shooter's writings collected by police continue to be part of a lawsuit on appeal at the Court of Appeals in which a chancellor ruled copyright prevented their release. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
The Tennessee Valley Authority refused to release information about its grants to cryptocurrency companies. It is now fighting a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from a journalist and University of Tennessee professor over it. The Knoxville News Sentinel published a story by Daniel Dassow about the lawsuit on Oct. 29. The story also details how| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
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. What was the issue? For 2½ years, the city had sent Perrusquia monthly emails, telling him that it| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Parents and others with the Covenant School attend a public records hearing in June 2024 in a case involving whether police must release its investigative records into the March 2023 shooting at the school. Many records have been at issue, including the shooter's| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
It's been a dizzying week in the public records case before Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea Myles. For more than a year now, Myles has been considering whether the public records law requires the Nashville Police Department to release files from its investigation into the Covenant School shooting. Six people were killed in the shooting, including three| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
You've got to hand it to Adam Sichko, a senior reporter with the Nashville Business Journal. Five years ago, Amazon was shopping the country for a new headquarters location that promised 50,000 jobs and a $5 billion corporate investment. Which state and city would give them the most incentives (money)?| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
A Davidson County chancellor on Monday ordered Michael Patrick Leahy to appear in court on June 17 to show why his publication of information from leaked documents in the Covenant case does not violate her court orders, and why he should not be held| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Tennessee lawmakers made a major change this year in the state's law regarding access to county autopsy reports, prohibiting the release of such reports when the deceased is a minor and the cause of death is listed as a homicide. However, people will be able to still see such reports during an in-person| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Longtime WBIR-TV journalist John Becker of Knoxville has filed a court petition appealing a denial of public records held by the University of Tennessee from UT-Battelle LLC, which runs the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and which UT jointly owns. Longtime WBIR journalist John| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
House and Senate leaders meet in a conference committee to discuss the level of transparency of a business property tax refund. (Photo by Deborah Fisher) Attorneys fees in open meetings lawsuits Lawmakers handed open government some wins and losses during the session that ended Thursday. The most| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
A bill that expands the agenda requirement in the open meetings law has been transmitted to Gov. Bill Lee for signature. As an example of an agenda before the new agenda law goes into effect, this 2023 agenda is from the Megasite Authority| Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
