A state appellate court is ordering an East Tennessee judge to turn over trial audio recordings he’s kept locked away in his office in a bid to keep the convicted killer he sent to prison from obtaining a copy.
In a first of its kind ruling, the Tennessee Court of Appeals says in a decision made public this week that audio recordings of criminal trials are public records under state law, and 8th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Shayne Sexton should not have withheld from convicted killer Kevin Lee Waggoner a copy of audio from Waggoner’s trial.
The 8th Judicial District includes Campbell, Claiborne, Fentress, Scott and Union counties.
“The record on appeal establishes that Judge Sexton currently has possession of the only copy of the audio recordings,” Appellate Judge Kristi M. Davis wrote in the opinion. “In congruence with (state law), the recordings must be immediately filed with the criminal court clerk for storage.
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