E-FILED

6/12/2023 5:36 PM
CLERK & MASTER
DAVIDSON CO. CHANCERY CT.

Exhibit A

02538163  
 IN THE CHANCERY COURT FOR DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE
TWENTIETH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, PART III

CLATA RENEE BREWER; JAMES )

HAMMOND; THE TENNESSEE )
FIREARMS ASSOCIATION, INC.; )
MICHAEL P. LEAHY; STAR NEWS )
DIGITAL MEDIA, INC.; THE )
TENNESSEAN; RACHEL WEGNER; )
And TODD GARDENHIRE, in his )
Individual capacity; )
)
Petitioners, ) Case No. 23-0538-III
) CONSOLIDATED
v. )
)
METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT )
OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON )
COUNTY; )
)
Respondent, )
)
and )
)
PARENTS OF MINOR COVENANT )
STUDENTS JANE DOE AND JOHN )
DOE; THE COVENANT SCHOOL )
And COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN )
CHURCH )
)
Intervenors. )

BRIEF AMICUS CURIAE OF FRANKLIN ROAD ACADEMY, MONTGOMERY BELL

ACADEMY, OAK HILL SCHOOL, AND ST. PAUL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENT AND INTERVENORS

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 INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE

Amici Curiae Franklin Road Academy, Montgomery Bell Academy, Oak Hill School, and

St. Paul Christian Academy (“Amici”) are independent schools in Nashville, all located a short

distance from The Covenant School.

The armed attack on The Covenant School (“Covenant”) on March 27, 2023, is of utmost

concern to the children, parents, and staff of Amici schools. Collectively, Amici educate more than

2,500 students in preschool through the twelfth grade and employ more than 450 teachers, faculty,

and staff. While each school educates and cares for a different subset of Nashville’s school

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children, all Amici have an ongoing fundamental interest in school safety and security. The horrific

events at The Covenant School have heightened this interest.

Amici come together to express their specific perspectives on the negative impacts that

would result from disclosure of the assailant’s writings, referred to in the media as a “manifesto.”

The premature disclosure of the Metro Nashville Police Department’s (“MNPD”) investigative

file will seriously risk the ongoing safety of Amici’s students and educators and those of all other

schools in the Nashville community.

The Tennessee Public Record Act’s “school security” exception precludes public

disclosure of parts of the MNPD’s investigative file (including the assailant’s writings). The well

documented risk of “copycat” assailants warrants strict application of the “school security”

exception to the records requests at hand. Premature disclosure of the contents of MNPD’s open

and active investigation will complicate the ability of Nashville’s schools, including Amici, to

assess and develop effective countermeasures for active shooter risks. These interests of Amici are

central to the issues before the Court in this Petition.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

On the morning of March 27 of this year, a brutal armed assault on The Covenant School

took the lives of six victims, including three children under the age of ten. 1 As news of the
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assailant’s 2 attack trickled out, students and faculty across Nashville felt waves of fear, sadness,
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anger, and grief, along with concerns for their own safety and security. Nashville was thrust to the

center of the national discussion about school safety and active shooter attacks. During the

following weeks, Nashvillians, Tennesseans, and Americans of all stripes rallied in support of the

1
The assailant also died that day.
2
Amici purposefully omit the assailant’s name. Per experts in the field, minimizing posthumous
notoriety discourages copycats aspiring to the same infamy.

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families of the victims and The Covenant School. And during this period of agony and grief,

numerous sources lamented the potential for, or even likelihood of, “copycat” attacks on other

children, especially if the writings of the assailant were made publicly available. Despite this risk

to other students, Petitioners sued Respondent under the Tennessee Public Records Act (“TPRA”)

to compel disclosures from the ongoing law enforcement investigation, particularly seeking the

assailant’s writings that were seized during the investigation.

In defense, Respondent submitted a Notice of Filing Applicable Exceptions, setting out

five separate exceptions to the TPRA applicable to Petitioner’s requests. Among others,

Respondent cited the “school security” exception to the TPRA, which broadly bars public release

of information, records, and plans related to school security, district-wide school safety plans, and

building-level school safety plans. Numerous parents of Covenant students (“Parents”), The

Covenant School, and Covenant Presbyterian Church intervened to oppose premature disclosure

of MNPD’s investigative file and any release of the assailant’s writings.

Amici argue alongside Respondent and Intervenors that premature disclosure of MNPD’s

investigative file and any disclosure of the assailant’s writings will have a detrimental, ongoing

effect on school safety. Specifically, Amici highlight the significance of two TPRA exceptions—

the “school security” exception and the “open investigation” exception. The TPRA’s broad “school

security” exception precludes disclosure of any information that implicates school security. This

bars disclosure of the assailant’s writings. Overriding the prohibition on disclosure would heighten

the risk of copycat attacks at schools in Nashville and elsewhere.

The Parents and Covenant are not alone in their concern that premature disclosure of

MNPD’s investigative file and any disclosure of the assailant’s writings will risk the safety of

students and educators throughout Nashville’s schools. The awful history of school shootings in

the United States has demonstrated that release of an assailant’s motivational writings frequently

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inspires lethal copycat attacks on other children. If the assailant’s writings are disclosed or the

MNPD’s investigative file is disclosed prematurely, the bell cannot be unrung. Students should

not be exposed to any such additional risk.

ARGUMENT

I. The Tennessee Public Record Act’s “School Security” Exception is Directly

Implicated and Bars Disclosure of the Assailant’s Writings.

Months of detailed planning by the assailant went into the March 27 attack at Covenant.

Only the swift, heroic response of Covenant faculty and MNPD officers prevented even greater

loss of life. The national media noted that the response was among the swiftest and most effective

among all active shooter situations in recent memory. Nevertheless, the heart-rending loss of life

in that very brief period demonstrates that the top priority is preventing other attacks. While this

assailant may have been stopped, school safety implications linger on for all Nashville schools as

the MNPD continues its investigation. Amici urge the Court to apply the TPRA’s “school security”

exception as an independent basis to preclude disclosure of the assailant’s writings and pertinent

portions of MNPD’s investigative file.

Public disclosure of information related to school security could only work against efforts

to keep schools secure, regardless of the source or form of that information. Schools, including

Amici, face unprecedented security challenges in today’s age. School shootings are certainly the

most pertinent example. But schools must also plan for natural disasters like recent tornados 3, 2F

3
Jessica Bliss, After 6 schools were shredded by Tennessee tornadoes, teachers and parents work
together to get students safely back to class, THE TENNESSEAN (March 10, 2020, 10:00 PM),
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/03/11/6-schools-shredded-tennessee-
tornadoes-work-return-students/4968910002/.

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pandemics, such as COVID-19 4, cybersecurity threats 5, and more, to ensure that students can
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enjoy safe settings for their education. As a result, the General Assembly wisely concluded that

the specific societal need for school safety outweighs the general presumption for disclosure.

A. The Tennessee Public Record Act’s “school security” exception applies to the
assailant’s writings.

The TPRA codified Tennessee’s century-old commitment to public inspection of

government records. See Tennessean v. Metro. Gov't of Nashville, 485 S.W.3d 857, 864 (Tenn.

2016) (citations omitted). The TPRA, “however, is not absolute, as there are numerous statutory

exceptions to disclosure.” Id. at 865. One is the “school security” exception which states in relevant

part:

Information, records, and plans that are related to school security, the district-wide
school safety plans or the building-level school safety plans shall not be open to
public inspection.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(p). “When interpreting statutes” like the TPRA, courts “must

determine and give effect to the Legislature’s intent in adopting the statute without adding or taking

away from its intended meaning or application.” Tennessean, 485 S.W.3d at 863.

The General Assembly’s intent in the “school security” exception is plain and unequivocal:

“[i]nformation, records, and plans . . . related to school security . . . shall not be open to public

inspection.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(p) (emphasis added). 6 The MNPD’s investigative file
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4
Kenya Anderson, Back to school in Nashville: COVID-19 policies, safety, more, THE
TENNESSEAN (Aug. 5, 2022, 6:01 AM),
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2022/08/05/back-school-nashville-covid-19-
policies-safety-more/10229223002/.
5
Lindsay Bramson, Lack of oversight raises questions about how cyber attacks are prevented at
Middle Tennessee schools, WSMV4 (Aug. 8, 2022, 6:36 PM),
https://www.wsmv.com/2022/08/08/lack-oversight-raises-questions-about-how-cyber-attacks-
are-prevented-middle-tennessee-schools/.
6
The General Assembly recently amended the school security exception as a result of these events,
making the exception more robust to even include that “[a]ll school security . . . threats . . . must
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and the assailant’s writings plainly contain such information related to school security. Petitioner

The Tennessean itself reported that the assailant’s writings included detailed maps of the attack,

noting ingress points and security cameras at Covenant, surveillance notes about security measures

at Covenant and other locations, and more. See Evan Mealins, What we know about Covenant

School shooter’s writings as legal battle brews in Nashville, THE TENNESSEAN (May 23, 2023,

10:27 AM), https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2023/05/23/what-we-know-about-

audrey-hale-nashville-shooting-writings/70229076007/. Thus, any portion of MNPD’s

investigative file or the assailant’s writings that contain information related to school security

cannot be disclosed at any point.

Strict adherence to the plain language of the TPRA’s school security exception is essential

in this matter and any similar matter. Adherence to the plain language of the exception is sound

statutory interpretation; courts “need not engage in further statutory interpretation in the face of

[a] clear legislative edict.” Ellithorpe v. Weismark, 479 S.W.3d 818, 827 (Tenn. 2015). In this

instance, the General Assembly is clear that information related to school security shall not be

open to public inspection. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(p). Though Petitioners have tried to

add “public” to the statute to qualify “school,” the General Assembly, in its wisdom, did not limit

the TPRA’s school security exception to just public schools. Nor did the General Assembly add

“public” to the exception during its recent amendments strengthening the exception. See 2023

Tennessee Laws Pub. Ch. 367 (H.B. 322). When it comes to the in-school safety of Tennessee’s

children, it does not make sense that the General Assembly would create a less protective standard

for any subset of children. “[I]nformation” that is “related to school security” is inherently (and

intentionally) broad, encompassing any materials in the assailant’s writings or MNPD’s

be treated as confidential and shall not be open for inspection by members of the public.” See 2023
Tennessee Laws Pub. Ch. 367 (H.B. 322). These amendments take effect on July 1, 2023.

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investigative file that may “relate to [Covenant’s] school security” or any other school’s security.

The General Assembly meant what it said and said what it meant.

At bottom, the TPRA’s school security exception provides an additional, independent bar

to disclosure of any portion of MNPD’s investigative file or the assailant’s writings “related to

school security.”

B. The Tennessee Public Record Act’s “school security” exception bars disclosure of
the assailant’s writings particularly given that disclosure increases the risk of
“copycat” assailants in Nashville and elsewhere.

The vital importance of the school security exception to the TPRA is illustrated by repeated

instances of “copycat” school shooters. Courts across the country have acknowledged that, “in the

wake of school shootings at Columbine, Santee, Newtown and many others, school administrators

face the daunting task of evaluating potential threats of violence and keeping their students safe .

. .” CLM by & through McNeil v. Sherwood Sch. Dist. 88J, No. 3:15-CV-01098-SB, 2016 WL

8944450, at *9 (D. Or. Dec. 30, 2016) (quoting Wynar v. Douglas Cnty. School Dist., 728 F.3d

1062, 1064 (9th Cir. 2013)). Against this backdrop, “parents, educators, and policymakers have

confronted difficult questions about how to best protect students from harm.” Gabbard v. Madison

Loc. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 179 N.E.3d 1169, 1172 (Ohio 2021). “Sadly, we need only look to

recent events to know that teachers may, at a moment’s notice, become those most readily able to

protect our students from deadly and immediate harm from outside the school as well. School

shootings are a real and palpable possibility.” Friedenberg v. Sch. Bd. of Palm Beach Cnty., 911

F.3d 1084, 1099 (11th Cir. 2018). The risk of copycat attacks is one of many reasons to strictly

apply the school security exception to bar disclosure of the assailant’s writings.

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 The concept of copycat behavior is not new to sociology or even criminology. 7 Amidst the
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spate of school shootings in recent history—Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Parkland,

Uvalde, Covenant—researchers, like criminologist Adam Lankford from the University of

Alabama, have investigated whether media coverage and disclosures from the lives of mass

shooters have a social-contagion effect, increasing copycat behavior. 8 Lankford concluded from
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his research that perpetrators of mass shootings “are not people dreaming this up on their own.

They are learning it from each other, [and t]hey want to be like the previous attacker, who is a

role model.” 9 Lankford further concluded from “direct evidence” that perpetrators are
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increasingly “influenced by another specific attacker or attackers.” 10 And the rise in copycat mass
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killings are influenced and promoted by “the intimate details of [prior perpetrators’] lives.” 11
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School safety—and particularly, the safety of children—is of paramount importance.

Preventing copycats far outweighs any reporting, advocacy, political, or voyeuristic interest in

disclosure of the assailant’s writings and warrants strict application of the plain language of the

TPRA’s school security exception.

7
See Gustavo Tosti, The Sociological Theories of Gabriel Tarde, POLITICAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY,
Vol. 12, No. 3 (Sep. 1897) (discussing behavioral imitation theories of the late-19th-century
sociologist and criminologist Gabriel Tarde); David Dressler, Case of the Copycat Criminal, N.Y.
TIMES (Dec. 10, 1961).
8
See, e.g., Adam Lankford & Sara Tomek, Mass Killings in the United States from 2006 to 2013:
Social Contagion or Random Clusters? SUICIDE & LIFE THREAT BEHAVIOR, Vol. 48, No. 4 (Aug.
2018).
9
Tim Reid & Kanishka Singh, ‘Copycat’ mass shootings becoming deadlier, experts warn after
New York attack, REUTERS (May 15, 2022 5:29 PM), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/copycat-
mass-shootings-becoming-deadlier-experts-warn-after-new-york-attack-2022-05-15/ (quoting
Adam Lankford).
10
Id. (quoting Lankford).
11
Id. (quoting Lankford).

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II. Prematurely Disclosing MNPD’s Investigative File and Disclosing the Assailant’s
Writings Puts School Safety at Risk for Thousands of Nashville Students.

Beyond the school security exception, MNPD’s investigative file and the assailant’s

writings fall within the “open investigation” exception to the TPRA. Disclosure, particularly

premature disclosure, of MNPD’s investigative file and the assailant’s writings may interfere with

the ability of Covenant, Amici, and other Nashville schools to assess and preserve school security.

A. MNPD’s investigation is open and active, and likely holds school security
implications for other Nashville schools, including Amici.

Though the assailant died during the attack, there is no reasonable dispute that questions

remain about the lead-up to and preparation for the assault; the investigation remains ongoing.

MNPD Lieutenant Brent Gibson, overseer of MNPD’s investigation, stated: “The MNPD

investigation into this matter is still an active, ongoing criminal investigation and it is an open

matter.” (Decl. of Lt. Brent Gibson, ¶ 6 (May 17, 2023)). MNPD continues to coordinate with other

agencies, interview witnesses, and review internet, bank, social media, and phone records of the

assailant. (Id. ¶¶ 7–8). This active investigation is crucial; MNPD must “determine if related crimes

were committed, are being planned, or whether other people were involved.” (Id. ¶ 12).

As a result, the contents of MNPD’s investigative file, including the assailant’s writings,

fall squarely within the general state law exception to the TPRA by way of Tennessee Rule of

Criminal Procedure 16. See Tennessean v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville, 485 S.W.3d 857, 865 (Tenn.

2016); Tenn. Code. Ann. § 10–7–503(a)(2)(A); Tenn. R. Crim. P. 16; cf. Memphis Publ’g Co. v.

Holt, 710 S.W.2d 513, 515 (Tenn. 1986) (compelling disclosure of a closed investigative file).

B. Disclosure of MNPD’s investigative file, particularly premature disclosure, may

interfere with the ability of Covenant, Amici, and other Nashville schools to assess
school security risks.

The events of March 27 are a painful reminder of the challenge inherent in the daunting

task of protecting school children from harm and even deadly threats. Disclosure of investigative

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files, particularly at this early stage, will only make that task more difficult for Covenant, Amici,

and schools across Nashville because the contents of MNPD’s open investigative file hold direct

school safety implications for these schools. As Petitioner The Tennessean reported, the assailant’s

writings include detailed maps of the attack, noting ingress points and security cameras at

Covenant. See Mealins, supra. There is little question that disclosure of these writings and other

portions of MNPD’s investigative file directly impact the safety and security of children in the

care of Intervenors The Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, and Amici.

The assailant’s writings also indicate “possible other targets.” Id. At this early stage of the

investigation, Amici understand that no other schools were directly targeted by the assailant on

March 27. This is only a cold comfort; the assailant’s planning and tactics have direct implications

for other schools, including Amici, and other schools may have been surveilled. The assailant’s

extensive surveillance implicates Amici’s school safety plans; as shown by the map above, some

Amici are only a stone’s throw away. Some early reports on March 27, 2023, confused Covenant

with amicus St. Paul Christian Academy just down the road. 12 Amidst MNPD’s open investigation
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into the events leading up to the March 27 assault, release of the investigative file or the assailant’s

writings directly impacts Intervenors and Amici’s school safety and security interests.

At the very least, the assailant’s surveillance and tactics may provide a blueprint for future

attacks. At the same time, schools across Nashville and across Tennessee have been closely

revisiting their security plans. Petitioner Sen. Todd Gardenhire was part of a coalition of state

legislators that recently sponsored legislation related to school safety in the wake of these events.

12
See, e.g., Daniel Smithson & Tony Garcia, 3 students, 3 adults, shooter dead after Nashville
school shooting, police say, WSMV4 (Mar. 27, 2023 at 10:44AM, Updated Mar. 28, 2023 at 1:03
PM) (originally titled “Reported shooting St. Paul Christian Academy, police say”); @Scoop:
Nashville, TWITTER (Mar. 27, 2023, 10:36 AM), https://twitter.com/scoopnash/status/
1640377304621764608 (“#BREAKING: mass casualty alert in Nashville. Multiple victims down.
School Shooting at St Paul Christian school in Nashville . . .”).

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Amici, like all Tennessee schools, are closely evaluating both their school safety and security plans,

as well as the impact of this legislation, which takes effect on July 1, 2023. See 2023 Tennessee

Laws Pub. Ch. 367 (H.B. 322). Disclosure at this particular time of transition and new legislation

could only complicate Amici’s ability to assess their school security efforts and safety plans.

The disclosure of MNPD’s investigative file and the assailant’s writings would directly

affect the security planning at The Covenant School and Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Disclosing these documents would also undermine efforts to ensure safety and security of school

children at Amici and other Nashville schools. It may, in fact, sweep Amici’s security details into

the ambit of disclosure, publicly revealing risks before Amici and other Nashville schools have had

the chance to assess particular security risks and plan accordingly.

CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated by Respondent and Intervenors, as affirmed by the experiences and

perspectives of Amici, this Court should hold that cause has been shown for the nondisclosure of

documents and deny the petition for disclosure under the Tennessee Public Records Act.

Dated: June 12, 2023

Respectfully submitted,

s/ Samuel P. Funk
Samuel P. Funk (No. 19777)
James K. Vines (No. 12329)
Grace A. Fox (No. 37367)
Evan S. Rothey (No. 37708)
SIMS|FUNK, PLC
3322 West End Ave., Ste. 200
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 292-9335
(615) 649-8565 (fax)
sfunk@simsfunk.com
jvines@simsfunk.com
gfox@simsfunk.com
erothey@simsfunk.com

Counsel for Amici Curiae

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