On February 4, 2026, a unanimous Tennessee Appellate Court substantially overruled much of the trial court’s ruling which had blocked public access to the records obtained by the Metropolitan Police Department with respect to the Covenant School murders in March 2023. Opinion.

Tennessee Firearms Association and Chief James Hammond (retired) working with Judicial Watch sued the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department shortly after the Covenant School murders to obtain access to the records obtained by it secondary to the event and killing of the shooter by Metro officers. Several other interest groups also petitioned for access to similar records. Despite the death of the shooter at the scene and public statements that there did not appear to be any other shooters or conspirators, Metro denied access to the records claiming that there was a pending investigation.

In the trial court, a Nashville Chancellor denied access to all of the records on a variety of reasons. That denial was appealed by Tennessee Firearms Association, Chief Hammond and others.

In the appellate opinion released on February 4, 2026, much of the trial court’s substantive rulings to block access to the records were declared moot (Metro has closed its investigation in 2025) or were otherwise rejected by the Court of Appeals.Other decisions by the trial court to block access to the requested records were reversed or materially narrowed with instructions to reconsider on remand.