Appeals court judge sides with Covenant parents in intervention of records release
A three-judge panel is backing parents of the Covenant School intervening in a legal fight over the release of records tied to the March 27 school shooting, including the shooter's writings.
In a Thursday court filing, Tennessee Court of Appeals Judges Thomas Frierson, John McClarty and Kristi Davis ruled Covenant Presbyterian Church, Covenant School and parents of Covenant students should be allowed to intervene in the case to voice their opposition to the potential release of the records. The judges remanded the case to proceed in the Davidson County Chancery Court, where the lawsuit was filed.
Frierson noted in his decision that intervention by a third party has been allowed in some similar cases, and while the Tennessee Public Records Act does not explicitly permit intervention, the court sided with the argument that it "neither forbid intervention nor alter[ed] the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure concerning intervention in Tennessee."
"The court also determined that because the parents' children were victims of a crime, the parents had a sufficiently personal stake in the litigation to establish standing to intervention," the Thursday decision said.
Frierson said those petitioning for the release of records would have to do so in the Davidson County Chancery Court as it maintains jurisdiction in the case.
On Nov. 6, a conservative media personality released pictures of three pages of what he said were the shooter's writings.
Seven Metro Nashville Police officers were placed on administrative leave following the purported release. Four were returned to full duty following an internal investigation.
Tennessean reporters requested several records within days of the shooting on March 27, when the shooter, a former Covenant student, entered the school and killed six people, including three children.
Several groups, including The Tennessean, sued Metro Nashville after those records requests were denied. The school, church and Covenant families are intervening in the lawsuit and seeking to prevent the city from releasing the records.
On May 24, Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles ruled allowing permissive intervention into the lawsuit over the records by the church, school and parents, saying that those seeking records would not have access to private entities like a church.
Some organizations, including The Tennessean, cited an interest in bringing to light "additional facts regarding this incident, societal and mental health issues, and issues regarding firearms more broadly, which have not yet been revealed through other means," according to the news organization's complaint.
In its appeal, those seeking records cited state laws not allowing intervention of open records from third parties, the court filing said.
The Tennessean has no plans to publish the writings verbatim and has sought to center coverage on public policy, the victims and the community.
Covenant Intervention Appea... by USA TODAY Network
Reporter Evan Mealins contributed to this story.
Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Appeals judge backs Covenant intervention in records battle
