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.
Tennessee attorneys who are taking on leadership positions in the Tennessee Bar Association this coming year took part in an orientation program this afternoon. TBA President-Elect Jackie Dixon outlined some of her goals for the coming year, and TBA staff members joined Real Estate Section Chair Brooks Smith and former Labor and Employment Law Section Chair Stan Graham in presentations about the TBA and the resources available to its members.
Actress Reese Witherspoon and her parents appeared in a Davidson County courtroom this afternoon for an emergency hearing before Probate Judge Randy Kennedy. Earlier this week, her mother, Betty Witherspoon, filed a lawsuit saying that her husband John D. Witherspoon had married another woman even though they are still married. Betty Witherspoon accuses John Witherspoon and Patricia Taylor of bigamy and is seeking to have the new marriage annulled. In court documents, Betty Witherspoon has said she fears her husband suffers from early onset dementia and has a drinking problem. The Tennessean has the story
Defense attorney Joe Brandon Jr. and District Attorney General Bill Whitesell continued with the second day of the trial of Shanterrica Madden, accused of killing her roommate, MTSU basketball player Tina Stewart. Jurors heard a friend of Stewart's say she heard Madden pleading with Stewart to let her leave her bedroom moments before their argument turned deadly. The case is before Judge Don Ash in Murfreesboro. The Daily News Journal is following the trial
Congress sent a bill to the White House on Thursday that would extend 30 temporary federal bankruptcy judgeships for another five years. The bill reauthorizes bankruptcy judgeships in 14 states and Puerto Rico that had already expired. Without the legislation, those districts would have lost a judgeship anytime a judge retired or left the bench for any reason, something that had already happened in two districts. The Blog of Legal Times has more
Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law today a bill aimed at tightening restrictions on doctor-shopping and other forms of prescription-drug abuse. The Tennessee Prescription Safety Act of 2012, signed this morning on the steps of the Anderson County Courthouse, requires all prescribers and dispensers in the state to register with Tennessee's Controlled Substance Monitoring Database. The News Sentinel has more
Prosecutors rested their case against John Edwards on Thursday, and today U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles refused to throw out campaign corruption charges against him, meaning the former presidential hopeful will have to present his case to a jury. After two-and-a-half hours of arguments from prosecutors and the defense, the judge ruled immediately from the bench that there was enough evidence to let jurors decide.
Federal authorities have sued America’s self-proclaimed toughest sheriff, Joe Arpaio, a rare step after months of negotiations failed to yield an agreement to settle allegations that his department racially profiled Latinos in his trademark immigration patrols. The U.S. Department of Justice contends that the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff's office engages in a "pattern or practice" of unlawful discriminatory conduct both in county jails and patrol operations and seeks new policies and training to correct the situation. The ABA Journal has the story
Social media gets maligned in court sometimes, but yesterday transcripts of violent text messages aided in charges being dropped against a 20-year-old Chattanooga man who was accused of soliciting murder on Facebook. Gerald Webb, Carl Parks Jr.'s attorney, showed the text messages in which the alleged murder target had threatened to have Parks, his mother and cousins killed in retaliation for their break-up and a dispute over a money loan. Prosecutor Lila Statom then dropped a charge of solicitation of murder charge against Parks. The Times Free Press reports
This opinion piece describes how Daniel Ellsberg's early-1970s actions were precursors to the Wikileak scandal, when he leaked a top-secret Defense Department report on the history and conduct of the war in South Vietnam, revealing a pattern of deceit by U.S. government officials. The reports came to be called the “Pentagon Papers.” The Tennessean has the column by Frank Daniels III
American Bar Association President Bill Robinson III implored members of the Chattanooga Bar Association to bring public awareness to a nationwide funding crisis in state courts, during his address at the group's annual Law Day lunch on Thursday. "We must stand up and speak out for our courts," he said, adding that 42 states had reduced their budgets for courts last year and no state contributes more than 5 percent of its budget to courts. Robinson said it's the responsibility of those in the legal profession to educate the public on the importance of the judicial branch. The Times Free Press has more
Louis H. Pollak, a federal judge who as a young lawyer helped work on the pivotal school-desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education, and later served as dean of two Ivy League law schools, died Tuesday at 89. Read more about him from the AP
Members of the TBA’s Leadership Law class today took civics lessons to six Nashville area high schools as part of a program on Issues in Community Leadership. The class used materials provided by the Memphis Bar Association’s Law Rules program, a campaign to teach the importance of the American legal system to schools, businesses and civic groups. MBA President Gary Smith spoke on the campaign before the group split up to visit the schools.
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis recently announced that partner Miranda K. Kelley has been named chair of "Women of Waller," an internal initiative that provides female attorneys with opportunities for mentoring, community service, work-life balance and leadership development, while MaryEllen Sullivan Pickrell has been named Professional Development Partner. In this new position, she will oversee a firm-wide leadership training program. Read more on the firm's website
For the fifth consecutive year, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC has been named among the "Top 100 Law Firms for Women" by MultiCultural Law, a magazine focused on diversity in the legal profession. The firm was also ranked among the "Top 25 Law Firms for African Americans" for the second consecutive year. The firm reports that its Diversity Initiative, launched in 2002, and its Women's Initiative, launched in 2005, has led to numerous new programs designed to foster an atmosphere that honors each individual's diverse qualities. Learn more about the firm’s efforts
Nashville lawyer and mediator Marnie Huff is featured on the cover of the Spring 2012 issue of the ABA’s Dispute Resolution Magazine, which focuses on women in ADR. Huff serves as an elected member of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Council and is past chair of the TBA Dispute Resolution Section. (ABA membership is required to access the magazine.)
The 30th Judicial District Circuit Court and Chancery Court have proposed amendments to their local rules to allow for e-filing. Comments are due by May 18 at 4:30 p.m. Central. The proposals will take effect June 25 unless the court amends, modifies or withdraws them. Lawyers may submit comments on the chancery court rules to Clerk & Master Donna Russell at donna.russell@shelbycountytn.gov or in writing to Russell at the Chancery Court of Shelby County, 140 Adams Ave., Room 308, Memphis 38103. Comments on the circuit court rules should be submitted to Van Sturdivant at van.sturdivant@shelbycountytn.gov or in writing to Clerk Jimmy Moore, Circuit Court of Shelby County, 140 Adams Ave., Room 320, Memphis 38103.
The American Bar Association's Commission on Ethics 20/20 has made final recommendations about the impact of technology and globalization on the practice of law, as well as the structure for regulating U.S. lawyers. The ABA House of Delegates will consider a series of resolutions based on those recommendations when it meets in August. Discussion will center on lawyer mobility, legal process outsourcing and maintaining client confidences. Among the report’s main findings are that (1) lawyers must understand technology in order to provide clients with the competent and cost-effective services they deserve, and (2) globalization means that more clients are confronting legal problems that cross jurisdictional lines, requiring lawyers to cross real and virtual borders. The ABA Journal has more from the report
The Nashville Bar Association will hold its spring memorial service May 24 at 11 a.m. in the Downtown Presbyterian Church. Chancellor Russell Perkins will preside and a reception at the church will follow. Attorneys to be memorialized are: Judge Elmer Davies, Marilyn Devine, James (Jim) Hill, Hugh Howser, Alfred Knight III, Harold Levinson, James Meyer, John Roberts, Judge Leon Ruben, Robert (Bob) Sullivan and Sonny West. Beginning this year, the NBA will hold two memorial services per year – one in May and one in November. The services honor the memory of Nashville lawyers and judges who have passed away during the preceding period.
The Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers Association will celebrate Law Day with a dinner in Cookeville on May 15 at 6 p.m. The event will take place at John’s Place at 11 Gibson Ave. The featured speaker will be Dr. Michael Birdwell, a history professor at Tennessee Tech University. He will discuss how John’s Place became instrumental in building race relations in Cookeville. John McClellan, the late owner of John’s Place, was the first African American elected to a public office in Putnam County. To RSVP to the dinner, contact Rachel Moses at rmoses@las.org or (931) 528-7436.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment offered by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., yesterday that would prevent the Obama administration from using funding in the FY 2013 budget to challenge state immigration laws in court. Opponents of the amendment said it violates separation of powers because it dictates which positions the executive branch is allowed to argue in court. Two weeks ago, Arizona’s controversial immigration law made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Justice Department said that law conflicts with federal immigration policy. Five other states have passed similar laws, and the Justice Department has filed suit against three of them: Alabama, South Carolina and Utah. The Tennessean has more
