NEWS

State fights to block access to Vanderbilt rape records

Stacey Barchenger
sbarchenger@tennessean.com

The Tennessee attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court not to hear an appeal from a coalition of media agencies seeking the release of certain records in the Vanderbilt University rape case.

The state's 14-page filing cites at least three other cases in which courts prevented review of third-party documents or entire court files while investigations were ongoing. The attorney general refutes claims from the media group that withholding the records would create a blanket exception to public records law.

"The 'law enforcement privilege' is a qualified evidentiary privilege that requires balancing the public interest in nondisclosure against the need of a particular litigant for access to privileged information," the state's filing reads.

The Tennessean-led coalition in November requested the Supreme Court reverse lower-court decisions barring access to records such as third-party text messages and videos.

The Court of Appeals previously ruled the case evidence was part of an ongoing criminal investigation and not subject to disclosure.

"The current ruling creates a blanket exemption that allows law enforcement to cite 'under investigation' to keep public documents hidden. The public has a right to know that high-profile cases are prosecuted without favoritism or influence from powerful people," said Maria De Varenne, The Tennessean's news director. "The Tennessean is not interested in photos or video of the victim. But if text messages from coaches to players and others, which are public record, are hidden now in secrecy it creates doubt regarding what involvement coaches had in the hours and days after the horrible incident."

It is unknown when the Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @sbarchenger.