NASHVILLE – A lawsuit filed in Nashville claims a new policy that instructs Tennessee jailers on how to investigate the immigration status of detainees is illegal because it was crafted in secret.
The lawsuit says the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission deliberated by email and in meetings where public notice was not properly given, including an Oct. 15, 2010, meeting where the policy was adopted, according to The Tennessean.
Plaintiff William Geissler seeks an injunction to immediately stop enforcement of the policy, and a hearing on that request is scheduled for Wednesday in Davidson County Chancery Court.
In its response to the lawsuit, the Attorney General’s Office argues, “Plaintiff makes no allegation that a temporary injunction, now over one year after POST promulgated its written procedure, is immediately necessary and that waiting for a final judgment would be ineffective.”
The response does not address whether the commission violated the state’s open meetings law.