Haynes Boone is representing a media coalition of more than a dozen news organizations that have filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Safety on Aug. 1, claiming the department has improperly withheld public records related to the school shooting in Uvalde. The shooting and the lawsuit have been covered extensively by the media, which have quoted First Amendment lawyer and firm Partner Laura Prather.
Read excerpts of the articles quoting Laura below:
CNN Business – “Major News Organizations Sue Texas Department of Public Safety for Public Records on Uvalde Shooting”
"The Texas Department of Public Safety has offered inconsistent accounts of how law enforcement responded to the Uvalde tragedy, and its lack of transparency has stirred suspicion and frustration in a community that is still struggling with grief and shock," said Laura Lee Prather, a First Amendment lawyer at Haynes Boone who represents the plaintiffs.
ProPublica – “News Organizations Sue Texas Department of Public Safety Over Withheld Uvalde Shooting Records”
“DPS has refused numerous requests by these news organizations even though it’s clear under Texas law that the public is entitled to have access to these important public records. We ask that the court grant our petition so that the people of Texas can understand the truth about what happened.” [Laura Prather]
Texas Tribune – “Coalition of News Organizations Sues Texas Department of Public Safety Over Withheld Records on Uvalde Shooting”
“In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, and continuing throughout the ensuing two months, DPS has declined to provide any meaningful information in response to the Requests regarding the events of that day — despite the awful reality that some 376 members of law enforcement responded to the tragedy, and hundreds of those were in the school or on school property not going into the unlocked classroom where the gunman continued killing helpless youth,” the lawsuit states. “At the same time, DPS has offered conflicting accounts regarding the response of law enforcement, the conduct of its officers, the results of its own investigation, and the agency’s justifications for withholding information from the public.”
Other news outlets that have covered the case include:
