JACKSON, Tenn. — The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that local law enforcement agencies are not exempt from the state's open-records law, overturning a lower court ruling that would have allowed them to keep many files from the public's view.

The May 25 ruling was a victory for The Jackson Sun newspaper, which has been seeking law enforcement and other public records since it filed a lawsuit against the city in 2004.

It was a significant ruling in the eyes of many press and open-government advocates.

"The privilege would have given any law enforcement agency in the state a blanket opportunity to withhold any information they wanted," said Rick Hollow, general counsel for the Tennessee Press Association.

In 2004, reporters for the newspaper requested police records of interviews made by officers who stopped pedestrians and motorists based on reasonable suspicions, but never arrested anyone.

The field interviews were recorded by date and time and included only basic information, such as names, addresses, physical descriptions, type of car and sometimes a photograph.

The police department refused to allow the newspaper to see the records, claiming they were helpful for identifying potential suspects and witnesses to crimes in certain areas.

Jackson Sun Publisher Ed Graves said there were some concerns that the police were racially profiling individuals. According to court records, 80% of the people questioned were black.

"There was no real substantial argument why we shouldn't have the files," Graves said.

All government documents are open to the public unless they are exempted by state law. There are more than 230 exemptions to the open-records law, said Frank Gibson, the executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. The Associated Press is a member of the coalition.

Among the exemptions are investigative files of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

"Under the position of the city, the police department could withhold any information, including reports of crimes, under the theory that the information theoretically might become important in a future case," Gibson said.

Although the newspaper won in trial court, the Court of Appeals agreed with the city and ruled that law enforcement agencies have the privilege to refuse the disclosure of records.

The privilege was too broad and would have restricted public access to all types of police records, Gibson said.

The high court found that state law doesn't give law enforcement the right to deny access to documents.

"The Middle Section of the Court of Appeals has expressly refused to recognize the law enforcement privilege as an exception to the Public Records Act, commenting that it lacks 'logic and legal support,'" Chief Justice William M. Barker wrote in Schneider v. City of Jackson.

Richard Schneider, who was the executive editor when the lawsuit was filed, said the ruling might help strengthen what he considers very weak state laws protecting the public's right to an open and transparent government.

"How law enforcement does its job should be open to public scrutiny," said Schneider, who is now the executive editor of The Pensacola News Journal.

Schneider said he was confident the newspaper would win the lawsuit, but said lawsuits aren't a viable option for individuals who have been denied access.

"You've got to have a lot of patience and financial muscle just to see what cops are writing about you," he said.

Hollow said he was glad the Supreme Court also ordered the city to pay the attorneys fees for the newspaper, saying it could discourage local governments from denying access in the future.

"The public has a right to know what the government is doing. The government has rights to withhold some information," Hollow said. "But when the government violates the law, there has to be some accountability."

Mayor Charles Farmer said he was disappointed with the ruling and it would affect the police department's ability to investigate crimes.

"They will not be able to investigate effectively," he said. "Clearly under the court's ruling, things will have to change."