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NEW PROGRAMS TO HELP YOUNG LAWYERS LEARN THE ROPES
If you miss the challenges and camaraderie of law school, here are a
pair of new programs for you. The TBAās Young Lawyer Division is
launching a new 4L series of courses designed for attorneys in the
first year of their practice, and a Skills Enhancement Series for
attorneys in the first six years of practice. The 4L Series kicks off
Nov. 17 with a program focusing on practice in state court. The Skills
Enhancement Series starts Dec. 7 with a program on the new Limited
Liability Company Act.
If your law school experience included more than just listening to
lectures, weāve got that covered, too. Courses will be hosted at
popular clubs, including B.B. Kingās in Nashville, the Downtown Grille
and Brewery in Knoxville, St. Johnās Restaurant in Chattanooga and
Swig in Memphis. All will begin at 3 p.m. and end at 5 p.m., with a
happy hour to follow.
http://www.tba.org/tennbaru |
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TODAY'S OPINIONS: Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Following this index are summaries of each case, including its name, first paragraph, author's name, and the names of attorneys for the parties of each opinion.
00 - TN Supreme Court 00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals 01 - TN Supreme Court - Rules 03 - TN Court of Appeals 04 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals 00 - TN Attorney General Opinions 00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions 00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
TBA members can get the full-text versions of these opinions three ways detailed below.
All methods require a TBA username and password. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password,
you can look it up on-line at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi
Here's how you can obtain full-text version. We recommend you download the Opinions to your computer and then
open them from there. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This should give you the option to
download the original document. If not, you may need to right-click on the URL to get the option to save the file
to your computer. Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view
and save a plain-text version of the opinion. Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink.
This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion.
Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
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SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS CORRECTED LINK
Court: TSC-Rules
CORRECTED LINK http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_Rules/2005/certlist102405.pdf
GREGORY EIDSON v. LEE MOORE, JR.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Gregory Eidson, Portland, TN, pro se
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, P. Robin Dixon, Jr., Assistant AttorneyGeneral, Nashville, TN, for Appellee
Judge: HIGHERS
After the trial court denied an inmateās petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the inmate filed a suitagainst the trial judge seeking injunctive relief and damages pursuant to section 29-21-108 of the Tennessee Code. The trial court dismissed the inmateās complaint for numerous reasons,including the judicial immunity of the trial judge. We affirm the trial courtās dismissal of the complaint.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/2005/eidsong102505.pdf
ENGLISH MOUNTAIN SPRING WATER COMPANY v. LOREN L. CHUMLEY, COMMISSIONER OF THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Charles R. Terry, Morristown, Tennessee; Ronald C. Newcomb, Knoxville, Tennessee; and William Lewis Jenkins, Jr., Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the Appellant, English Mountain Spring Water Company.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; and Jay C. Ballard, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Loren L. Chumley, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
Judge: LEE
This case involves the construction of Tenn. Code Ann. ¤67-4-402 which imposes a privilege tax upon bottlers of "bottled soft drinks." The statute states that " 'bottled soft drinks' includes any and all nonalcoholic beverages, whether carbonated or not." The trial court determined that the Commissioner of Revenue correctly assessed the tax against the Appellant, English Mountain Spring Water Company, for its production, bottling, and sale of bottled spring water. Upon our finding that the language of the statute is ambiguous and, therefore, must be construed in favor of the taxpayer, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/2005/english102505.pdf
BRADLEY LEWIS SLATON v. JANNA LYNN SLATON RAY
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
E. Evan Cope, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellant, Bradley Lewis Slaton.
Richard L. Dugger, Shelbyville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Janna Lynn Slaton Ray.
Judge: CLEMENT
The father and primary residential parent of the partiesā two minor children appeals the denial ofhis request to relocate to Florida with the children. His stated reason is a better job opportunity with increased pay of seventy-five cents per hour. The childrenās mother opposes the move.The trial court determined the father spent substantially more time with the children, analyzed the case pursuant to Tenn. Code. Ann. ¤ 36-6-108(d), and concluded there was no reasonablepurpose for the move and the move was not in the best interest of the children. Thus, it denied the fatherās request and he appealed. We have concluded the evidence does not preponderateagainst the trial courtās findings and, thus, we affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/2005/slatonb102505.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TERRY BOYD COLLINS
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Stephen M. Wallace, District Public Defender; and William A. Kennedy, Assistant Public Defender, for the Appellant, Terry Boyd Collins.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General; H. Greeley Wells, Jr., District Attorney General; and J. Lewis Combs, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
The defendant, Terry Boyd Collins, stands convicted by a Sullivan County jury of arson and presenting a fraudulent insurance claim, for which he received an effective nine-year sentence. Aggrieved of his sentence and convictions, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions and claims that prosecutorial comments during closing arguments constitute reversible error, that the trial courtās sentencing determination conflicted with the mandates of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004), and that the trial court erred when denying all forms of alternative sentencing. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the lower court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/collinst102505.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RONALD ALLEN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Richard A. Spivey, Kingsport, Tennessee (on appeal), and Ivan Lilly, Assistant Public Defender (at
trial), for the appellant, Ronald Allen.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Renee W. Turner, Assistant Attorney General; Joe
Crumley, District Attorney General; and Janet Hardin, Assistant District Attorney General, for the
appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WADE
The defendant, Ronald Allen, was convicted of rape of a child. On appeal, this court affirmed the
conviction but modified the sentences, holding that enhancement factor (7), that the personal injuries
inflicted upon the victim were particularly great, see Tenn. Code Ann. ¤ 40-35-114(7) (2003), was
applied in violation of the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S.
296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). The state filed an application for permission to appeal to our supreme
court pursuant to Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. Our supreme court
granted the application and remanded the case to this court for reconsideration by virtue of its
opinion in State v. Gomez, 163 S.W.3d 632, 659 (Tenn. 2005). Based upon the holding in Gomez,
the judgment of the trial court must be affirmed.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/ronalda102505.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DONALD LUKE SEIBER, ALIAS WITH CONCURRING OPINION
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Michael T. Cabage (on appeal and at trial) and Tom Slaughter (at trial), Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Donald Luke Seiber, alias.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; David E. Coenen, Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney General; and Philip H. Morton, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: OGLE
The appellant, Donald Luke Seiber, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and two counts of sexual battery, and he received a total effective sentence of sixteen years. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the trial courtās evidentiary rulings, the trial courtās jury instructions, and sentencing. Upon our review of the record and the partiesā briefs, we affirm the appellantās convictions but remand for a new sentencing hearing.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/seiberd102505.pdf
CONCURRING OPINION http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/seiberd_con102505.pdf
JESSE TEASLEY v. JACK MORGAN, WARDEN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Joe H. Walker and Walter B. Johnson, II, Harriman, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jesse Teasley.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; John H. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; and J. Scott McCluen, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: OGLE
The petitioner, Jesse Teasley, appeals from the trial courtās order denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the trial courtās denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The petitioner has failed to establish a cognizable claim for habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, the Stateās motion is granted, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/teasleyj102505.pdf
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