Tennessee’s high court withdrew a ruling that required police to publicly release their investigation of country singer Naomi Judd’s death.
The state Supreme Court did not rule on whether the records can be released, however sent the case back to the lower court for another hearing.
Naomi Judd’s family filed a court petition in August to seal police reports and recordings made during the investigation into the country star’s death.
The records contained video and audio interviews with Judd’s family members following her passing. Releasing these details would result in “significant trauma and irreparable harm,” her family said.
Judd’s family filed the petition in Williamson County Chancery Court in Tennessee, as the filing was made on behalf of the late singer’s husband Larry Strickland and her daughters Ashley and Wynonna.
Williamson County Chancellor Joseph A. Woodruff ruled against the Judd family on Aug. 31, denying their request for an injunction to keep the records private while they pursue their legal case. The records “do not appear to fall within any recognized exception to the Public Records Act,” Woodruff found.
In addition, the chancellor ruled that specific records in the police file are public records, including body camera footage taken inside of Judd’s home. But the Tennessee Supreme Court took issue with that part of the chancellor’s order.
The Tennessee high court announced Thursday that Woodruff should not have determined which specific records are public or private without a complete hearing on the issue.
The court vacated Woodruff’s earlier ruling and sent the case back to the Chancery Court for a new hearing.
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