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.
Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Betty Adams Green was presented with the juvenile justice conference’s McCain-Abernathy Memorial Award for outstanding service yesterday. In accepting the honor, she reflected on the advancements Tennessee has made in keeping children safe while she has served on the bench. Though she did not take credit for any of the improvements, local observers said her impact could not be overstated. Read more in the Tennessean.
Robert Carter was sworn in as the new district attorney general for the 17th Judicial District during ceremonies last week at the Lincoln County Courthouse. The oath of office was administered by Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell. Carter succeeds Charles Crawford, who had held the seat since 2006. See a photo in the Elk Valley Times.
The family of former Sullivan County Criminal Court Judge Edgar Phillip Calhoun will receive friends tomorrow (Thursday) from noon to 2 p.m. at Carter-Trent Funeral Home, 520 Watauga St., Kingsport 37660. A funeral service will follow in the chapel at 2 p.m. Military graveside services will take place at East Lawn Memorial Park, 4997 Memorial Blvd., Kingsport 37664. Contributions in Judge Calhoun’s name may be made to the Holston Children’s Home, P.O. Box 188, Greeneville, TN 37744, or to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Read more about Judge Calhoun's life and career.
Brentwood lawyer Logan G. Fulks Jr. died on July 19 after battling lymphoma. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, he was working as assistant vice president for claims at State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company at the time of his death. Memorial donations may be made to the Davis House Child Advocacy Center, 101 Forrest Crossing Blvd., Suite 106, Franklin, TN 37064. Read his obituary in the Tennessean
Fifty years after voters decided to merge the Nashville and Davidson County governments into one metro entity, council members are looking to delete outdated ordinances. Metro Council attorney Jon Cooper, along with council members, are looking for “anachronistic, unenforced or unenforceable” provisions rather than those that, while objectionable, annoying or just plain inconvenient, are still “fairly debated points of law.” Cooper said the council should have legislation to consider soon. The Tennessean has more
With 49 state attorneys general and the feds reaching an agreement with the nation's largest loan servicers, as much as $25 billion in relief will be available to distressed borrowers and government agencies. Homeowners also have a new online resource to help them determine eligibility for relief under the settlement. General information for those struggling to keep their homes is available here or from a new hotline, which can be reached at (855) 876-7283.
Inside Counsel offers up seven of the strangest lawsuits making headlines, including a nude beauty queen, Humphrey Bogart's coat and fancy fonts on billboards. Read about them all here
The ABA Standing Committee on Judicial Independence met during the annual meeting in Chicago last week and issued a draft of revised judicial disqualification rules designed to deal with the influx of cash into judicial races. Sept. 15 is the deadline for comments on the draft revisions. Learn more from the ABA Journal
The Tennessee Supreme Court on Aug. 1 suspended the law license of Weakley County attorney Kyle Eric Crowe for three years, but allowed him to serve all time on probation if he makes restitution to his trust account, returns clients’ funds, does not engage in solo practice, terminates his access to client funds, and extends his Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement. If he fails to comply with these terms, probation will be revoked. The court took the action after it found that Crowe misappropriated funds and failed to reconcile and properly disburse trust funds. Download the BPR notice
The ABA House of Delegates considered a range of issues during its meeting yesterday and today in Chicago. Topping the agenda was changes to model ethics rules recommended by the Commission on Ethics 20/20. Among those proposals were changes to help younger lawyers facing a tough job market, rules for online client communications and rules for dealing with electronic files and metadata. The commission did not take a position on nonlawyer ownership of law firms, and delegates voted to postpone that issue indefinitely. Other action items included approving stricter standards on law school marketing, opposing laws that prevent physicians from talking to patients about gun ownership and safety, calling for a ban on religious profiling, calling on lawmakers to extend the statute of limitation for child sexual abuse crimes, calling for criminal defense lawyers to help clients with civil and nonlegal problems, adoption of rules governing conflicts checks when law firms merge or lawyers move to new employment, and adoption of new civil immigration detention standards.
The official misconduct trial set Monday for former Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Otis Jackson Jr. was postponed to give attorneys time to discuss a settlement, the Commercial Appeal reports. Jackson, a Democrat elected in 2008, was indicted last year on four felony counts for allegedly pressuring employees to give and collect $51,000 for this year's re-election campaign.
Newly sworn in American Bar Association President Laurel G. Bellows emphasized a theme of “lawyers matter” in her acceptance speech yesterday, saying lawyers “are the first responders when liberty and justice are imperiled.” She also called on lawyers to fight the horrors of human trafficking – a crime that gets too little attention, she says. Her other areas of focus for the year include improving cyber security in a way that is consistent with corporate and individual rights, preserving funding for the judicial branch, promoting the importance of civil jury trials, and developing a model compensation policy that advances women and minorities in the workplace. Read more about her goals in the ABA Journal
Former Knox County Judge Richard Baumgartner's attorneys argue that there are no grounds for a federal case against their client in a motion filed late Monday night. In May, a federal grand jury in Knoxville returned a seven-count indictment against him. The motion, filed by attorney Don Bosch, argues that there should be no federal case because Baumgartner is not accused of making untrue statements to any federal officials. WBIR has more
Former state senator John Ford should be released from prison later this month after more than four years behind bars, his brother, Edmund Ford Sr., said today. The Memphis Democrat reported to prison on April 28, 2008, following a bribery conviction. He is expected to be released to a halfway house in less than two weeks, his brother said. Read more in the Commercial Appeal
Justice Gary R. Wade is to be sworn in as the 29th chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court at 10 a.m. on Sept. 1 at the Sevier County Courthouse. He will succeed Chief Justice Cornelia A. Clark, who has served as chief justice since Sept. 1, 2010. On Sept. 5, Gov. Bill Haslam will administer the ceremonial oath to Wade at the Knoxville Bar Association’s annual dinner honoring the Supreme Court. Wade was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2006 by Gov. Phil Bredesen. Prior to his appointment, Wade served on the Court of Criminal Appeals for 19 years and was elected by his colleagues to serve as presiding judge from 1998 to 2006. Learn more from the Administrative Office of the Courts
Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, told the Associated Press that he won't make another run for Speaker of the House despite the defeat of seven Republican House incumbents in last week's primary races. "Beth's done a good job and I will be supporting Beth for speaker next year," Casada said. Casada was considered the favorite for the speakership after Republicans picked up 14 seats in the 99-member chamber in 2010. But Harwell, a former professor and state Republican Party chairwoman, won the caucus nomination in a secret ballot. The News Sentinel reports
Former Sullivan County Criminal Court Judge Edgar Calhoun died Monday (Aug. 6) after a long illness. He was 81. A Scott County native, Calhoun worked in the Tennessee Comptroller's Office after earning his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He later moved to Kingsport and entered private practice. He worked in the Sullivan County District Attorney General's office before being appointed to the bench in 1976. He held that position until his retirement in August 1994. Arrangements are incomplete at this time. TriCities.com reported the news
Legal Aid of East Tennessee recently honored lawyers who donate services to low-income clients at its Pro Bono Celebration. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee presented the Law Firm of the Year Award to Paine, Tarwater & Bickers, the Lawyer of the Year Award to Rachel P. Hurt of Arnett, Draper & Hagood, and the Law Student of the Year Award to Crista M. Cuccaro, a student at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Knoxville Bar Association President J. William Coley gave awards to 21 lawyers who donated at least 25 hours of service through Legal Aid's Pro Bono Project. In the past year, more than 750 lawyers and 120 law students contributed their services through the project. Download more from LAET
The law license of Rogersville attorney John Douglas Godbee was temporarily suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday after the court determined that he poses a threat of substantial harm to the public. Download the BPR release
The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended the law license of Wilson County attorney Gary Wayne Vandever yesterday based on his pleading guilty to three counts of theft of property over $60,000. The court further ordered the Board of Professional Responsibility to institute a formal proceeding to determine the extent of final discipline. Download the BPR release
