Overview
- The Fourth Court of Appeals affirmed a 2024 trial court decision and expanded it to include body-camera footage, radio transmissions, internal emails, text messages and 911 call records
- Judge Velia Meza ruled that Uvalde County and the school district offered only minimal justification—citing a grand jury probe and civil litigation without evidentiary support—for withholding the documents
- The ruling requires Uvalde County and Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District to pay the coalition of 18 news organizations’ legal fees under the Texas Public Information Act
- Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell had opposed the disclosures, warning they could jeopardize the October trial of former CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo on child endangerment charges
- Local officials retain the option to seek review by the Texas Supreme Court, leaving the timing of public access to these records uncertain