Stacy Jacobson v. Tennessee Department of Children's Services

This appeal arises from a Tennessee Public Records Act (“TPRA”) petition to access a Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) case file regarding its investigation into the fatality of a fourteen-year-old boy. The petition also sought disclosure of the investigation into the child’s death, as well as four prior investigations related to the same child, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 37-5-107. Prior to the filing of the petition, the petitioner, Stacy Jacobson (“Ms. Jacobson”), submitted a written request to obtain the unredacted version of the deceased child’s case file, along with the records from four prior DCS investigations related to the child. DCS denied the requests, citing several legal bases, including Tennessee Code Annotated § 37-5-124, Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 37-1-409 and 612, Tennessee Code Annotated § 37-5-107, Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 (“Rule 16”), and the 2013 Davidson County Chancery Court order requiring that DCS redact all such records to eliminate information made confidential under state law. Thereafter, Ms. Jacobson filed a petition in the Chancery Court of Davidson County to obtain access to the unredacted public records, the four related investigative files, and for her attorney’s fees and costs. The trial court denied the petition, finding that, under “the state law exception” to the TPRA, which encompasses Rule 16, the redacted portions of the case file and the four related investigative files are exempt from disclosure because they are relevant to an ongoing criminal prosecution of the deceased child’s family members who are alleged to be responsible for his abuse and death. Ms. Jacobson subsequently filed a motion to alter or amend judgment, arguing that the trial court had failed to consider whether the DCS records from the prior investigations involving the deceased child were part of the child’s “full case file.” The trial court denied the motion, finding that a ruling on this issue would constitute an advisory opinion. Ms. Jacobson appeals the trial court’s denial of her requests. For the reasons explained below, we vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings.