On Friday, November 21, 2025, Appen Media reported that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer recused himself from a public records lawsuit involving the City of Sandy Springs. The lawsuit, initiated by Appen Media in May 2023, alleges that the city is in violation of the Open Records Act by denying the newspaper access to police incident reports.
Judge Farmer cited his residency in Sandy Springs and his regular readership of the Sandy Springs Crier, an Appen Media publication, as reasons for his recusal. This decision further delays the resolution of the case, which has been ongoing for 30 months.
The legal dispute centers on the definition of “initial incident report” under state law, which mandates public access to public records but allows for certain exceptions, particularly concerning ongoing police investigations. While agencies can withhold records related to open investigations, initial incident and crime reports must be released, regardless of the case’s status.
Appen Media’s lawsuit challenges Sandy Springs’ practice of providing documents with brief, one-sentence narratives of police dispatches, omitting crucial details found in incident reports from other jurisdictions. These details typically include the nature of the crime, property damage assessments, injury reports, victim information, arrest records, and suspect identifications.
Sandy Springs acknowledges that officers often create more detailed reports on the same day as the initial dispatch narrative. However, the city argues that these subsequent reports are not part of the “initial incident report” and are therefore exempt from public release.
Appen Media contends that this practice contradicts both the practices of surrounding agencies and guidance from the state Attorney General’s Office, which suggests that anything written concurrently with the initial report should be considered part of it. The newspaper cited instances where both the one-sentence narrative and the more detailed report were created on the same day, yet the city only provided the former in response to open records requests.
The case initially went to trial in Fulton County, where a judge ruled in favor of the city in December 2023. Appen Media subsequently appealed the decision to the state Court of Appeals, which overturned the lower court’s ruling, deeming it “premature.” The Court of Appeals stated that “genuine issues of material fact remain” and sent the case back to Fulton County Superior Court.
Prior to Judge Farmer’s recusal, Appen Media had filed a motion requesting the court to order the city to provide complete incident reports for comparison with those provided to the newspaper. Appen argued that these documents would address deficiencies identified by the Court of Appeals. A hearing was scheduled to adjudicate this request, marking Judge Farmer’s first involvement in the case.
However, upon revealing his residency and familiarity with the case through the Sandy Springs Crier, Judge Farmer recused himself, citing his support for both freedom of the press and law enforcement. The case will now be reassigned to another judge in Fulton County Superior Court.
Source: Appen Media
