Tennessee Court Weighs Family Intervention in Covenant School Shooter Records Case

Tennessee Appeals Court debates whether families of Covenant School shooting victims can intervene in a Public Records Act case over the shooter’s writings.

Children from The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., hold hands as they are taken to a reunification site at the Woodmont Baptist Church after a deadly shooting at their school on March 27, 2023. Jonathan Mattise/AP Photo

The legal battle surrounding the release of writings left behind by the March 27 Covenant School shooter continues in Nashville, as the Tennessee Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Monday over whether families of the schoolchildren should be granted legal standing to intervene in a Tennessee Public Records Act (TPRA) case.

The case could set a precedent and raises questions about the balance between public interest and personal privacy in the aftermath of traumatic events.