One of the foundational principles of the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office is transparency. To help ensure the community that we serve is well-informed, this Office strives to give the media accurate and consistent information.
Inquiries from the news media are a priority for the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office and will be responded to as quickly and efficiently as possible, within reason. Every effort will be made to meet media deadlines and to ensure that all information released is accurate. The Communications team is responsible for the Office’s media inquiries, interview requests, and other press issues.
If you are a member of the working media and would like an interview with the District Attorney or you need information on a certain case please contact media@scdag.com.
Office Hours are Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, excluding holidays.
Expectations for Media
Media outlets can expect:
A response/answer (same day if possible and within a reasonable amount of time as possible). This can even include informing the outlet that “at this time we do not have an answer to your request but will continue pursuit.”
To ensure accuracy and to assist with the facilitation of details and information it is necessary for the Communications Office to seek answers to the following:
What is your deadline? (Hard Deadline or Soft). The Communications Office will set appropriate expectations as to whether or not this deadline is reasonable.
What is the story about? (Expect several follow-up questions about this).
Be mindful with requests requiring interdepartmental research or other such complex requests that involve comprehensive attention. Expecting a short turnaround time on such requests is not reasonable and will be communicated by Communications Office.
A request late in the afternoon that requires significant research and/or coordination will be handled the following day unless circumstances warrant otherwise.
For interview requests, we ask for a 24-48 hour lead time (unless breaking news). This allows for scheduling and to ensure that the interviewee is prepared.
The Communications Office does not handle public records requests. These requests should be made to the Clerk’s Office or public records director.
Policy for Media Requests for Public Records or Data
All data requests must be submitted either through our office’s formal Public Records Request procedure or directly through the clerk's office. This ensures the delivery of accurate, verified information within a structured timeframe.
While we understand the importance of deadlines, please note that our office is actively managing hundreds of thousands of cases across our team of 120 prosecutors. Given this volume, it is not feasible to fulfill ad hoc data requests outside the established process. In rare instances where certain information is readily available, we may be able to provide it directly, but this cannot be guaranteed.
To manage expectations and uphold accuracy, please submit all data requests through the standardized Public Records Request process.