The Tennessee Court of Appeals in Nashville has agreed to expedite an appeal that will determine who is allowed to intervene in a lawsuit seeking the release of the Covenant School killer’s manifesto — a move that will push a July 12 show cause hearing into August.
“Until the appeal regarding the intervention is resolved, there is no way to know who the parties in the underlying action will be to participate in the show cause hearing,” the court wrote. “Without a stay of the trial court proceedings, this appeal would be rendered moot or the parties may be forced to conduct a new show cause hearing depending on the results of the appeal.”
The lawsuit — filed by the parent company of The Tennessee Star, The Tennessean, the Tennessee Firearms Association, and the National Police Association — seeks the release of Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto and related writings. Hale shot her way into the Covenant Presbyterian School on March 27 and killed three 9-year-olds and three adult staff members before being fatally shot by police.
While it has released some limited information about Hale’s motives and plans, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has refused to turn over Hale’s writings.
Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles has allowed the Covenant Presbyterian Church, its school and the parents of the private elementary school’s students to intervene in the case — a move the lawsuit’s plaintiffs believe sets a dangerous precedent that could weaken Tennessee’s public records laws.
Metro Nashville has cited a previous ruling in blocking the release of the records. The Tennessee Supreme Court has recognized an exemption to the state’s public records law for police records under Rule 16(a)(2) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. As Deborah Fisher, executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, notes, the court has said that as long as there is a pending investigation and prosecution arising out of the events for which the records were gathered, the records may remain confidential.
Once an investigation is closed, however, the records are no longer exempt under state law.
“In short, the Rules of Criminal Procedure only apply when the district attorney or police are contemplating charging someone or have charged someone with a crime. They don’t apply when they have decided not to charge someone,” Fisher wrote.
The shooter is dead. Police say she acted alone. There would appear to be no ongoing criminal investigation. MNPD counters that their “ongoing” investigation could take up to a year to complete.
With the appeal in play, it could be mid-August before a show cause hearing is scheduled. The timing is of interest.
Lame duck Republican Governor Bill Lee has called a special session of the Legislature for Aug. 21 to take up gun control bills in the wake of the Covenant School massacre. Republicans and groups like the Tennessee Firearms Association have called for the release of Hale’s manifesto before the planned session, arguing records will shed important insight on the mindset and motives of the 28-year-old woman who identified as a transgender male. Hale’s writings could help inform public safety policy, they say.
Meanwhile, a federal lawsuit against the FBI demanding the release of Hale’s manifesto moves on. Although overlooked by much of the media, it is possible the litigation filed by Star News Digital Media Inc. (The Star’s parent company) could produce the records weeks before the show cause hearing. The federal court has ordered the FBI to file its response to a motion for summary judgment by July 3. The court could soon after decide on whether to grant the motion, which would demand the FBI turn over the same documents MNPD possesses.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Audrey Hale” by Metro Nashville Police Department.
