NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge has ordered a conservative media organization to appear in court for publishing details from allegedly leaked documents about a 2023 Nashville school shooting. the point of sale sues that the same kind of records are released to the public.
On Monday, Nashville Chancellor I’Ashea Myles set a June 17 hearing for Star News Digital Media and Editor-in-Chief Michael Leahy to explain why their recent work on The Covenant School shooter did not violate court orders that could subject them to contempt proceedings. and sanctions. She cited the “purported publication of certain alleged documents and information” under the judge’s seal in the public records case.
The Tennessee Star, a publication of Star News, says the claim that the Star violated a court order is false. In part, it reasoned in a story Tuesday that it had not published any of the actual leaked images or documents — just some of the information contained within.
“This could raise First Amendment issues,” said Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.
The hearing could reveal competing arguments not only about the First Amendment protections of media outlets, but also about the extent to which judges can police conduct in their cases.
Myles wrote that she became aware of The Tennessee Star’s stories through a media call asking for her comment on their stories, citing leaked documents.
In the public records lawsuit, plaintiffs include news media, a gun rights group, a nonprofit law enforcement organization and Tennessee Sen. Todd Gardenhire. Star News Digital Media is also suing the FBI in federal court seeking release of the documents.
And while the city of Nashville has argued that it does not have to release the documents during an active police investigation, prosecutors have countered that there is no meaningful criminal investigation underway since the shooter is dead; Audrey Hale was killed by police. The fact that the police investigation is still officially ongoing does not matter, say the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
The shooter who killed three 9-year-old children and three adults According to the court, in March 2023 he left at least 20 diaries, a suicide note and an unpublished memoir at Covenant, a private Christian school. Despite the ongoing lawsuits, there had already been leaks.
A few pages of one diary were leaked to a conservative commentator which she posted on social media in November. Part of the interest in the data stems from the fact that the shooter, who police say was assigned female at birth, may have been a transgender man.
Nashville police said they “exhausted all available investigative options” last year as they investigated the leak. They noted that a former police detective who had images from the magazine declined interview requests, and the department said it is “unable to compel statements or cooperation from former employees.”
Police have sent their investigative report on the leak to the Nashville district attorney’s office, whose spokesman said there has been no decision yet on what, if any, action will be taken. Police have so far refused to make the report public, calling it an open case.
Following the Star’s reporting in recent weeks, police said in a statement that they are “concerned about the alleged leak, and we, like others, would like to know where it came from.”
The judge in the public records case has expressed concern about possible leaks. In the February documents, she noted that she had ordered the parties not to directly quote or reproduce the leaked documents in the case, and threatened sanctions, including contempt of court, for any “attempts to obtain court orders from the parties, lawyers or involved third parties”. .
Last year, police initially said they planned to release the shooter’s writings once they completed their investigation, which police said could happen sometime next month. Since then, a group has Parents at Covenant School have joined the lawsuit, arguing that none of the documents should ever be released. They say the shooter’s writings could retraumatize their children and inspire copycats.
The parents group has acquired ownership rights to the shooter’s writings and has threatened in lawsuits to copyright them and sue anyone who publishes them.
At a hearing in April, an attorney for the city said writings found in the gunman’s car could be released without jeopardizing the investigation.
An attorney representing Covenant, meanwhile, has argued that another law banning the release of information, documents or plans related to school safety could apply to all of the shooter’s writings if interpreted broadly.