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.
In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court Friday ordered a new trial for a Gibson County man after determining that statements he made during a police interrogation should not have been used as evidence at trial. The case involves the 2007 arrest of David H. Climer Jr., during which he asked whether he could “have … an appointed lawyer right now.” The detective questioning him said “not at this time” and proceeded to question him for three hours. The trial and appeals courts found that the statements were properly admitted because Climer never unequivocally invoked his right to counsel. The Supreme Court disagreed, saying the prosecution failed to prove that the defendant understood and waived his constitutional right to appointed counsel. Download the opinion.
Merit selection, considered by many to be the key feature of the successful Tennessee Plan, was eliminated from the process today when lawmakers could not, at the last minute, reach an accommodation on an unrelated squabble.
Three attempts to pass a bill to extend the life of the Judicial Nominating Commission in the House were stymied during the last day of the session. Since the constitutional power to fill vacancies is vested in the legislature, there will be no mechanism to appoint trial or appellate judges to replace jurists who die, retire or are removed.
Appellate judges will be evaluated by the present Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission before standing for election in August 2014. No changes in the composition or membership of that commission will come as a result of the inaction.
Some observers also saw developments early in the day on judicial redistricting (see related story) as part of the overall spat.
The legislature adjourned for the year this afternoon.
Three days after federal agents raided the Knoxville headquarters of Pilot Flying J, the government released documents alleging that the company preyed on trucking customers that bought diesel fuel from it, withholding millions of dollars in rebates. Based on unnamed informants, the FBI said there is probable cause to believe Pilot employees conspired and schemed to engage in rebate fraud for years, targeting customers who were deemed too unsophisticated to notice their discount was being changed. One confidential source also alleged that the fraud occurred with the knowledge of Pilot CEO Jimmy Haslam and president Mark Hazelwood, Knoxnews reports. Company leadership continues to deny any wrongdoing.
The state Senate today gave final unanimous approval to the bill (SB 555/HB 692) sponsored by lawyer legislators Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, and Rep. Andy Farmer, R-Sevierville, making changes to governing conservatorships after hearing a report from the Tennessee Bar Association. Among the proposed changes, the recommendation establishes a uniform emergency placement process, clarifies the role of guardians ad litem, requires court orders to specify rights being taken away, and calls for more frequent financial reports. The recommendations follow a series of hearings held across the state at which members of the TBA Special Committee on Conservatorship Practice and Procedure, chaired by Jackson lawyer Pam Wright, heard from witnesses who lost all of their assets as victims of conservatorships. The legislation will be one of the topics in the Legislative Update CLE at the TBA Convention in Nashville in June. The Tennessean has more.
The state House today failed to pass a plan pushed by Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey to enact the first judicial redistricting in the state since 1984. Richard Locker, Nashville bureau chief for The Commercial Appeal, writes today that opponents of the bill moved to kill it for the session but House Speaker Beth Harwell ruled that a motion to reject must wait one day. House members whose districts were directly affected by the plan persuasively argued against it and convinced a majority of their colleagues to join them on a 28-66 vote to oppose the bill. One lawmaker also expressed a common sentiment that the bill was "crammed down" their throats by the Senate, which had approved it 27-4 on Tuesday.
Social Security administrative law judges have filed suit against the agency claiming they are so overwhelmed by disability claims that they sometimes award benefits they might otherwise deny just to keep up with the workload. The Social Security Administration says it has set a “productivity goal” for each judge to handle 500 to 700 cases a year. The judges, however, claim that is an illegal quota that violates their independence and denies due process rights to applicants. The Associated Press suggests that the suit “raises serious questions about the integrity of the disability hearing process” and comes as the disability program faces serious financial problems. WRCB-TV in Chattanooga has the AP story.
The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday issued an order seeking comments on proposed changes to Rule 9 amendments that it originally proposed on Aug. 8, 2012. The court reports that the new changes are based on comments, including extensive comments by the TBA, it received after proposing the 2012 amendments. Yesterday's order sets June 14 as the deadline for new comments and includes a redline version of the amendment showing changes the court has made to the 2012 version. The TBA Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee will review and make recommendations on the latest revisions.
Gov. Bill Haslam has signed legislation proposed by the Tennessee Press Association (TPA) that requires all public notices printed in newspapers to also be published on websites as well as a statewide aggregate website maintained by TPA. According to supporters, the law is designed to increase transparency and openness in government, the Leaf Chronicle reports.
After last week’s appointment of Rob Philyaw as the next Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge, one commissioner is crying foul, the Times Free Press reports. On April 11, commissioners appointed Philyaw over two other finalists -- Juvenile Magistrate Troy McDougal and attorney Curtis Bowe -- to replace Suzanne Bailey, who is retiring. Greg Beck, one of three commissioners who supported Bowe, said the ease with which Philyaw was appointed suggests politics were at play, even raising questions, he said, about Philyaw’s experience and motivation for seeking the appointment.
Judge Stacy Street was sworn in as First Judicial District Criminal Court judge yesterday in Elizabethton by fellow Criminal Court Judge Robert Cupp. Before a crowd of well wishers, Street thanked many people, and reflected that he is now sitting on a bench that has been occupied by only three men in the past 40 years: Arden Hill, Cupp and Lynn Brown, who he succeeds. He said all three had a drive “to be fair and to do the right thing” and that his dream is that “When my time is up that you can say the same thing about me.” See photos in the Johnson City Press and Elizabethton Star.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has granted review in three criminal cases and a single civil matter. The criminal issues include (1) whether a trial attorney is ineffective for telling a defendant only that he “may or may not be deported” as part of a plea bargain; (2) whether a prosecutor’s closing argument that the defendant should “Just tell us where you were” constituted an improper comment on the defendant’s post-arrest silence; and (3) whether a defendant committed burglary when he obtained permission to enter a habitation through deception. The civil case addresses a jail’s liability to an inmate who was injured by another inmate after he was erroneously left in jail following a court order for his release. The Raybin-Perky Hot List discusses these cases and predicts possible results.
The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the Washington County Sheriff's Office, in association with Safe Passage domestic abuse shelter in Johnson City, will hold the Justice in Motion 5K run/walk April 27 during National Crime Victims' Rights Week. The event is designed to raise awareness of victims’ rights and will benefit the work of Safe Passage. Local domestic abuse shelters, sexual assault centers, victims groups and law enforcement agencies are invited to attend the race and set up booths with literature about their services. Learn more in this article in the Kingsport Times News or register online.
Nashville lawyer Ashley Denise Preston was suspended on April 17 for one year, but the Tennessee Supreme Court allowed her to serve the entire suspension on probation so long as she meets several conditions, including engaging a practice monitor and participating with the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program. She also may continue practicing law during the probationary period. The discipline was taken in response to complaints alleging that Preston neglected clients’ cases, failed to communicate with clients and the Board of Professional Responsibility, and failed to respond to court orders after failing to file a brief in a criminal case. Download the BPR notice
Catherine Marie "Kaky" Joyce, 81, died April 10 at the Ave Maria Home in Bartlett. A graduate of St. Agnes Academy and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Joyce worked for more than 30 years in the Shelby County Chancery Court in various positions. Her favorite assignment was working with families going through the adoption process, according to her obituary. Funeral services were held April 13 at St. Louis Catholic Church. In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions may be made to St. Louis Catholic Church, 203 S. White Station Rd., Memphis, TN 38117; Monastery of St. Clare, 1310 Dellwood Ave. Memphis, TN 38127; Ave Maria Home, 2805 Charles Bryan Rd., Bartlett, TN 38134; or the organization of the donor's choice.
On May 1, all federal district courts will begin charging a $50 administrative fee for filing a civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court in addition to the $350 filing fee. The Judicial Conference approved this amendment in September thereby increasing the total filing fee to $400. The administrative fee does not apply to miscellaneous civil cases, habeas corpus cases, or to cases filed by pro se prisoner plaintiffs who have been provisionally granted permission to proceed in forma pauperis.
The University of Tennessee ranked as the top law school in the South for practical and clinical training, while Vanderbilt was ranked number two for quality of faculty and academic instruction in the just released student survey produced by Above the Law, a website that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the world of law. The schools also scored high in several other categories on the survey.
Freshman lawmaker, state Sen. Steven Dickerson (R-Nashville) learned during his first legislative session that even the best-intentioned laws can have unintended consequences. In a feature by the Nashville Legder, Dickerson said he has moved cautiously, trying to fully understand how different proposals might impact different people. “Everybody I’ve spoken to is committed to doing the right thing,” Dickerson says. But, of course, different people have different ideas about what the “right thing” is, he adds. While he thinks Gov. Bill Haslam “struck the perfect balance” with his Medicaid expansion proposal, Dickerson said if Haslam and the feds do reach an agreement, he would defer judgment on his vote until he has had a chance to study the details.
Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected an amendment to tighten background checks for gun buyers and ban assault weapons, the Nashville City Paper Reports. Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both voted against the legislation. “I voted against the so-called ‘assault weapons’ ban because it clearly infringes on Second Amendment rights, and I voted against the Toomey-Manchin amendment because it could easily evolve into a national gun registry.” Alexander said.
The House today unanimously approved TBA-backed legislation to reform conservatorship law in Tennessee. The vote came after a last-minute amendment that the Tennessean said would create a new and special path for hospitals to move patients unable to make decisions for themselves into lower cost settings such as nursing homes or rehabilitation faculties. The amended bill tomorrow goes back to the Senate, where Tennessee Bar Association Executive Director Allan Ramsaur expects it to get the support needed for passage. “We worked with the hospitals to find a third way of preserving rights but not requiring them to keep someone in the expensive hospital bed," he said of the amendment. TBA members will be able to learn more about the legislation during a program at the 2013 TBA Convention in Nashville that focuses on changes in the law coming out of the current General Assembly session.
Federal prosecutors have indicted 24 Internal Revenue Service employees in Tennessee with theft, the Tennessean reports. The employees were charged with allegedly lying to get unemployment, food stamps, welfare and housing vouchers. The investigation originated with the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which has been focusing specifically on IRS employees who illegally draw government benefits as part of what they call “Operation Double Dip.”
