Tennessee Appeals Court Upholds Covenant School’s Right to Contest Shooter’s Writings Release

Judge’s decision follows unauthorized leak of some documents that resulted in seven officers being placed on administrative duty pending a probe into the leak.

An ambulance leaves of Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023. John Amis/AP Photo

In the first court ruling since the summer in the public records lawsuit seeking to force the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) to release the writings left behind by the March 27 Covenant School shooter, the Tennessee Court of Appeals bolstered the efforts of those seeking to keep the shooter’s writings confidential in a Thursday ruling.

The court upheld a lower court’s ruling that allowed various parties, including the families of victims, to intervene as third-party participants in the public records lawsuit filed by various individuals, media organizations, and other interested organizations.