Stay current with legal news in Tennessee. This page features the latest news for and about the Tennessee legal community, either produced by the Tennessee Bar Association or collected from news sources.
Memphis Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft has been given the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program’s (TLAP) first Judicial Volunteer of the Year Award. He was recognized for his participation in the Judicial Assistance Group (JAG) – a network of Tennessee judges who volunteer their time to make sure TLAP’s consultation, intervention, expertise and assistance is available to other judges and lawyers. The group also named Nashville lawyer Becky Freeman its attorney volunteer of the year and presented her with the Stephenson Todd Award. Freeman is an attorney with Metro Nashville’s General Sessions Court Probation Department. Read more about the winners in this press release from the program.
Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton’s plan to extend his charter school network to Nashville hit a roadblock after a review committee “picked apart his plan and recommended denial,” The Commercial Appeal reports. Herenton’s Thurgood Marshall School of Career Development is designed to help high school students in juvenile custody learn entrepreneurial skills. A similar school will open in Shelby County this fall. The Nashville review committee, however, said the application lacked the details needed for the group to understand how the school would operate. The Nashville school board will vote on the recommendation June 25.
By order of the Tennessee Supreme Court entered June 10, the law license of Cindy Lynn Burgess of Napa, Calif., was transferred to disability inactive status. Burgess may not practice law while on inactive status. She may return to the practice of law after showing by clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and she is fit to resume the practice of law. Read the BPR notice.
The Tennessee Supreme Court summarily and temporarily suspended Gibson County lawyer Gregory Wayne Minton from the practice of law on June 14 after determining that he failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct. The suspension remains in effect until dissolution or modification by the court. Download the BPR notice.
The Tennessee Supreme Court on May 21 disbarred former Memphis lawyer William T. Winchester and ordered him to pay restitution to five clients. Since August 2011, Winchester has been serving a two-year suspension in another case of misconduct. He also was suspended in 2010 for failure to pay his professional privilege tax and in 2011 for failing to comply with continuing legal education requirements. The latest action was taken in response to 10 complaints of ethical misconduct alleging lack of diligence, lack of communication, incompetent representation, abandoning a law practice, and misrepresentations to clients, other lawyers and the Board of Professional Responsibility. Download the BPR notice.
Tennessee election officials say they plan to review yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that Arizona’s voter identification requirement is inconsistent with federal law, the Associated Press reports. Two years ago, Tennessee enacted legislation that allows election officials to purge noncitizen residents from election rolls. Under the law, anyone listed as a noncitizen has 30 days to present proof of citizenship or be removed from the rolls. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State says election officials will review the ruling to see if it affects Tennessee law. The Memphis Daily News has the story.
The Kansas City, Mo., based law firm Polsinelli has opened a regional office in Chattanooga to serve clients from Nashville to Atlanta in corporate, finance, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate matters. The firm, which has offices around the country, works with a variety of industries including chemical manufacturing, health care, oil and gas exploration and real estate. Gregory M. Leitner, formerly with Husch Blackwell, will lead the Chattanooga office. Joining him are K. Chris Collins, Ralph M. Killebrew Jr. and Dustin J. Manning. Read more on the firm’s website.
President Barack Obama has chosen Clifford Sloan, a high-powered Washington lawyer with extensive experience in government, to be the State Department's special envoy for closing down the prison at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Sloan, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, has been an informal advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry but also has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations. His task will be to bridge the deep divide between the administration and the Congress, which will be no easy job. As the Associated Press points out, shortly before his appointment was announced, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation prohibiting the president from using defense funds to close the facility. WATE has the story.
A string of high-profile opinions during this past legislative session has shown the influence the attorney general has on public policy debates, the Tennesseean reports, suggesting these opinions have made him a target for legislators. Citing opinions issued on topics from animal cruelty to guns in trunks to Vanderbilt University’s nondiscrimination policy, the article maintains that this clout has made Attorney General Robert Cooper a target for those who argue the post requires more public accountability. Seven separate bills were introduced this year seeking to change the way the AG is selected or to change his duties. After nearly seven years in office, Cooper says he is uncertain whether he will seek reappointment after his term ends Sept. 1, 2014.
The TBA Board of Governors, meeting Saturday in Nashville, named three lawyers to fill vacancies on the body. They are: Jackson lawyer Michelle Sellers with Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell, who was named West Tennessee Grand Division Governor (Position 1); Memphis lawyer Brian Faughnan with Thomason Hendrix Harvey Johnson Mitchell, who was named West Tennessee Grand Division Governor (Position 2); and Sewanee lawyer Donna Pierce with The University of the South, who was named 4th District Governor.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has declined to give the parents of murder victims Channon Christian and Chris Newsom access to its files on former judge Richard Baumgartner, who presided over early trials in the murder case but later was removed from office, WATE-TV reports. The parents had requested access to the files arguing that since prosecutors and defense attorneys were able to see the documents, the victims' families should be able to see them as well. "I'm not sure what we'll find, but we should be allowed to see those files and gain knowledge as to what was taking place during that period of time," said Hugh Newsom, father of Chris Newsom. The parents have filed a petition with the court to see the sealed documents but are awaiting a ruling in the matter. They also have asked the court for time to respond to the TBI’s decision.
Chattanooga lawyer and former TBA President Charles J. Gearhiser died Monday (June 17) at 74. A 1961 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Gearhiser was an original founder of the firm of Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon PLLC, where he practiced until his death. Early in his career, Gearhiser was law clerk to U.S. District Judge Frank W. Wilson, and served in that position during the historic Jimmy Hoffa trial in 1964. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Tennessee, and then as a part-time U.S. Magistrate. While in private practice, Gearhiser made a name for himself as a prolific litigator, trying over 100 cases before Tennessee juries. His areas of expertise included federal criminal defense, professional liability defense, and product liability, personal injury, commercial and business cases. Gearhiser also has worked to improve the profession, serving as president of the Chattanooga Bar Association, chair of the Chattanooga Bar Foundation, member of the Judicial Performance Program Committee and a charter member of the Tennessee chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served as president of the TBA from 2001-2002 after serving on the association’s board of governors from 1999 to 2001 and during two earlier stints in 1992 and 1994.
Visitation will be held Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Rd., Chattanooga 37421. A service honoring his life will take place Friday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of Gearhiser’s late wife, Joy. Donations may be sent to 7625 Hamilton Park Dr., Suite 22, Chattanooga, TN 37421.
Attorneys from across Tennessee were recognized for outstanding works Friday (June 14) during the Lawyers Luncheon at the TBA Annual Convention in Nashville. Among those honored were:
• The late Elizabeth T. Collins, a former Memphis lawyer, who posthumously received the TBA YLD Fellows' William M. Leech Public Service Award.
• Knoxville lawyer Daniel Headrick, who received the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for his Tennessee Bar Journal article, “How to Act During a Deposition.” Headrick also received the Larry Dean Willks Leadership Award later that day from the members of his Leadership Law class.
• Supreme Court Justice Janice M. Holder, who received the Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award for her work with lawyers’ assistance programs and access to justice issues.
• Students Alyssa Neuhof and Jeff Carter for their winning video productions submitted to the TBA's YouTube Video Contest.
Memphis lawyer G. Donald Siemer, 81, died June 13 at Methodist University Hospital. Originally from Philadelphia, Siemer served the Shelby County community as an assistant district attorney and public defender. He was also instrumental in establishing Shelby County’s Environmental Court and Drug Court. Services were today at Cherokee Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be sent to the church at 5340 Quince at Estate, Memphis, TN 38119. The Commercial Appeal has more on his life.
Attorneys from across Tennessee were recognized for outstanding works Friday (June 14) during the Lawyers Luncheon at the TBA Annual Convention in Nashville. Incoming TBA President Cindy Wyrick also took the oath of office and spoke about her plans for the year at the event. (Photos by Elizabeth Slagle Todaro, Jenny Jones and Barry Kolar)
The court today also agreed to decide four cases in its next term, SCOTUSBlog reports. These cases involve questions of whether federal housing law requires proof of intentional discrimination; the legality of a $1.24 million defamation judgment against a Wisconsin airline that reported a pilot was potentially dangerous; an attorneys fees issue in a district court case; and whether a bankruptcy trustee may surcharge a debtor’s constitutionally protected homestead property. Bloomberg and the AP have stories on these issues.
The high court on Monday ruled that juries, not judges, have the final say on facts that can trigger mandatory minimum sentences in criminal trials, WRCB-TV reports. The court overturned the sentencing of a Richmond man who was convicted of robbery and firearm possession. During the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury said his accomplice did not brandish a weapon but the judge found that he did. The judge’s finding raised the minimum sentence from five to seven years. Lawyers for the defendant argued that the decision should have been left to the jury. The court agreed and sent the case back for resentencing.
Immigration legislation making its way through the U.S. Senate gained the support of Tennessee business leaders last week. The Tennessean reports that representatives from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. of Tennessee, the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and others announced support for the plan, which also was endorsed by President Obama last week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes to have a vote on the bill by July 4.
A recent study from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reveals major problems related to sexual assault at the John S. Wilder Youth Development Center in Somerville, WMC-TV reports. According to the story, Fayette County District Attorney Mike Dunavant said he is familiar with the problems inside the center and has prosecuted juveniles and workers for sexual assaults in recent years. The DOJ study found that the center had a 19.5 percent rate of sexual victimization, compared to a state average of 13 percent and a national average of 9.5 percent. Dunavant says he will push for changes in policy to require additional staff training, supervision and reporting of sex crimes.
A recent report from a federal monitor overseeing the Memphis juvenile justice system says the system is improving, but still has a long way to go. Sandra Simkins, who was hired to oversee reforms at the Shelby County Juvenile Court, said she still has concerns about the transfer of minors to adult court and defense attorneys’ access to their clients' files. She is expected to return to Memphis in the fall for another site visit and progress report, The Commercial Appeal reports.
