TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Jun 2, 2020

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has joined 55 organizations in filing a petition that asks the Tennessee Supreme Court to protect the public’s right of access to court proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a TCOG press release on the petition, of the 30 judicial district plans that have been approved by the high court, very few provide “any reasonable level of compliance” with the Constitutional right of access and several violate the Constitution by only allowing access to court personnel, parties, witnesses and lawyers. The petition asks the court to use its emergency powers to mandate that all courts and judges allow citizens to be present for in-person court proceedings or allow the public to view or listen to proceedings electronically. Petitioners are represented by former TBA president, Lucian Pera and the law firm of Adams and Reese LLP. Read the full press release.