A Tennessee court has ruled that a private nonprofit athletic association is the equivalent of a government agency, making it subject to public records laws.
The (Nashville) City Paper filed a petition in the Chancery Court for Davidson County seeking access to information from the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, which had previously denied the newspaper’s request, arguing that it is not a public government entity.
Lawson v. Office of the Attorney General
Media organizations in 2008 sought the release of a proffer statement given by Leonard Lawson in 1983 when Kentucky officials were investigating antitrust allegations. Lawson sued to enjoin the release of the record, arguing that the privacy and law enforcement exemptions of the state public records law applied. The trial court held that neither exception was applicable, ordering the release of the document. Lawson argues that the privacy exception should apply because the time lapse between when the document was created and when it was created increases the privacy harm.