NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The long legal battle surrounding whether or not to release the Covenant school shooter's writings is back in court on Monday.
A Chancery Court judge decided the show-cause hearing will take place on April 16th and 17th.
Monday's hearing had to be rescheduled from last week, delaying the case further. Groups arguing for the public release of the writings will go before a judge expecting to get a trial date on the issue.
They believe releasing them would help experts better understand mass shootings and create policies to stop them.
Some Covenant parents feel differently, arguing it would instead inspire other school shootings.
We're told the case could see a trial date set near the spring, around the time the community will be marking one year since the March shooting. Covenant families that want the writings sealed forever will be allowed to testify in the trial.
There's also a hearing happening Monday on the release of additional documents. The same groups arguing for the release of the shooter's writings want a list detailing documents turned over to the judge for her private viewing to be released.
They said this is a matter of open records and the public has a right to know.
There are still so many families in East Tennessee hurting following the floods from Hurricane Helene in September. That made this year's running of the Santa Train extra special for many families in the northeast part of the state. This special Santa Express has been making an annual run in part of Appalachia for over 80 years.
-Lelan Statom
