NASHVILLE — Arrest records in Nashville will remain open to the public, a federal judge has ruled.

A 1974 court decree barred police from releasing information on people who were arrested before they had been convicted of a crime. But Nashville police never abided by that order. It came out of a lawsuit filed on behalf of a “John Doe,” who claimed that information made public about his arrest hurt his opportunity for employment by Nashville metropolitan government, even though he was later cleared of the charges.

The Nashville metropolitan government, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, The Tennessean newspaper and WTVF-TV in Nashville asked U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger to dissolve the order.

“We think the decision affirms our belief that the public is best served by knowing who we arrest and what for,” Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said regarding the judge’s Sept. 28 ruling. “It’s just that simple.”

Vanderbilt University law professor James Blumstein, who last year asked the court to enforce the order, had represented John Doe and others potentially harmed in the class-action suit.

Blumstein had said he did not realize that Nashville was violating the order until he saw that the police Web site posted the photos and identifying information of people charged with patronizing prostitutes.

Blumstein had argued that release of arrest records could harm suspects who are ultimately exonerated.

“I’m disappointed in the decision, but very much respect the care and thoughtfulness with which Judge Trauger approached the problem,” he said.