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.
The Partnership for Families, Children and Adults in Chattanooga has spent years working to help domestic violence victims navigate the often-confusing world of General Sessions and Circuit courts. Now a tougher sentencing measure for domestic violence, meant to deter abusers and protect these victims, is awaiting Gov. Bill Haslam's signature. The new sentencing law will, for the first time in Tennessee, require that a repeat domestic assault offender serve mandatory jail time. As many as 2,500 abusers statewide could face mandatory jail time in the first year alone, according to estimates. reported in The Times Free Press.
TBA, Supreme Court & Governor encourage Tennesseans to get involved
NASHVILLE, April 30, 2012 --Judges, lawyers and citizens across the state will be participating in various events tomorrow (May 1) to celebrate Law Day. The theme of this year's celebration is "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom," which highlights the crucial role of courts and the need to foster a better understanding of the judiciary.
Child-pornography offenders are the focus of an intense debate as to whether the federal sentences they face have become too severe, the Associated Press reports. The U.S. Sentencing Commission plans to release a report this year that is likely to propose changes to the sentencing guidelines that it oversees. Some federal judges and public defenders say Congress has skewed the guidelines to the point where offenders who possess and distribute child pornography can go to prison for longer than those who actually rape or sexually abuse a child. Others oppose any push for leniency.
Gaylord Entertainment and Ashland City manufacturer A.O. Smith plan to file a lawsuit today against the federal government, alleging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service negligence led to major damage to its luxury hotel during the Cumberland River flood two years ago. Gaylord wants $250 million for damages to its Gaylord Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry House, and A.O. Smith will seek $76 million because of damage to its water heater plant in Ashland City, said Nashville lawyer Bob Patterson, who is overseeing the legal action. The Tennessean has more
The Memphis Bar Association will hold its annual memorial service on Wednesday at noon at Calvary Episcopal Church. The service honors members of the bar who passed away during the last year. See the list of lawyers who will be honored.
A portrait of Judge Rita Stotts will be unveiled during ceremonies Friday at 2 p.m. in the south hallway of the Shelby County Courthouse, 140 Adams Ave. A reception will follow the ceremony. Judge Stotts was on the Circuit Court, Division IV, from May 2000 until her death in January 2009. All members of the legal community are invited to attend.
The 2012 YLD Annual Meeting & Elections will be held Friday, June 8, at 4 p.m. Central in Memphis at the Peabody Hotel. The hotel is located at 149 Union Avenue, Memphis 38103.
The American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division is holding its spring meeting in Nashville May 3-5 and will be hosting a Project Salute Clinic on Friday, May 4, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The program, which is the group's primary public service initiative for the year, educates American veterans on the benefits available to them and helps them obtain those benefits. The program is being led this year by Tennessee's own young lawyer Matt Potempa.
For the first time in more than 20 years a new set of Judicial Conduct rules has been adopted by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Make sure you know what the new rules mean for you and your clients by attending this May 9 program in Nashville. The seminar will cover disqualifications/recusals, and offer an advanced overview of the amended code. Speakers include: TBA Task Force Chair T. Maxfield Bahner of Chambliss Bahner & Stophel, Task Force Reporter Sarah Y. Sheppeard of Sheppeard & Mynatt, and Task Force Member Lucian T. Pera of Adams and Reese LLP.
The law license of Chattanooga lawyer Lori Ann Spencer was transferred to disability inactive status on on April 26 by the Tennessee Supreme Court, pursuant to Section 21 of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9. Download the BPR release
The Tennessee Supreme Court disbarred Nashville lawyer Bennett Farris Bratcher, pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 18.5. The court issued the order April 26 for the disbarment that will become effective May 6. Bratcher consented to disbarment because he could not successfully defend himself against complaints filed with the board alleging that he misappropriated funds relating to the representation of three clients. His actions violated Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 8, Section 8.4(c) (engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation). Download the BPR release
Memphis lawyer Michael Brandon Barber was suspended April 26 for five years by the Tennessee Supreme Court for neglecting the representation of several former clients and ultimately abandoned his practice. By the aforementioned acts, he violated Rules 1.1 (competence), 1.3 (diligence), 1.4 (communication), 1.16 (terminating representation), 3.2 (expediting litigation), 8.1 (bar admission and disciplinary matters), and 8.4(a), (c), and (d) (misconduct) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Download the BPR release
Nancy Kay Kenley, 54, of Memphis died yesterday (April 26) after a long battle with ovarian cancer. She was Senior Counsel for Legal Regulatory Affairs at Federal Express and a 1990 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law. Visitation is today from 5 to 8 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home on Poplar Avenue in Memphis. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at White Station Church of Christ. Donations may be made to the Nancy K. Kenley Hope Fund at Independent Bank Memphis. Read her obituary
In an editorial, the Commercial Appeal weighs the pros and cons of the Shelby County proposal to fund a new special court to process former warriors who are facing criminal charges. Creation of the court would acknowledge that post-traumatic stress disorder and varying degrees of brain damage resulting from combat injuries are sometimes at the root of domestic violence, assaults, alcohol and drug abuse, or worse, among veterans. However, the paper, although supportive of the concept, questions whether the court is needed since there is already a "smorgasbord of veteran and support services available to veterans." Read the editorial
A recent poll showed that 61 percent of Americans would choose a punishment other than the death penalty for murder and just 1 percent of police chiefs think that expanding the death penalty would reduce violent crime, former President Jimmy Carter writes in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He points out that 90 percent of all executions are carried out in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States, and that while Southern states carry out more than 80 percent of the U.S.'s executions they have a higher murder rate than any other region. "Our nation’s focus is now on punishment, not rehabilitation," he writes in the opinion piece, which calls to abolish the death penalty. Read his column
If you are in Tennessee, you probably heard the shouts from Knoxville last week when it was announced that legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year. On the list of 13 recipients, however, are also former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens; former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the first woman to hold that position; and civil rights hero John Doar, who was assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in the 1960s. USA Today has more
Law Day ceremonies got underway in Maury County on Thursday, with Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade as the featured speaker. The event also included presentation of the Liberty Bell Award, given to senior chairman of First Farmers & Merchants Bank Virgil Moore. The award, presented by Chaz Molder, president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Maury County Bar Association, recognizes citizens who inspire a deeper sense of individual civic responsibility. Columbia Academy students were also presented with the 2012 Mock Trial Regional Competition Award by the Maury County Bar Association. The Columbia Daily Herald has the story and pictures
Five Knox County employees, including former trustee Mike Lowe, were charged with felony theft following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the state Comptroller's Office and the Knox County District Attorney's Office. The grand jury also recommended moving the trustee's office and its functions into the mayor's office, with spending and contracts to be handled through the finance department, WATE reports. The charges lead some members of the county commission to say that officeholders should face more scrutiny. "We have to start all over again, regaining the public trust," Commission Chairman Mike Hammond said.
The resolution that would amend the constitution and replace the current Tennessee Plan for merit selection and retention elections took a giant step today when the House concurred on SJR 710, forwarding it to the next session of the General Assembly. While judges appointed under the new plan would face retention elections, they would do so only after being nominated by the governor and after legislative confirmation.
The legislature will apparently leave town without specifying the way that the August 2014 election of judges will be conducted -- a move that TBA President Danny Van Horn termed “irresponsible.” Watch for more details of the last few days of the 107th General Assembly in future editions of TBAToday.
Memphis Lawyer Javier Michael Bailey was disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court today and ordered to pay restitution to 17 people totaling $29,867. Bailey entered a conditional guilty plea that he failed to properly communicate with clients, failed to exercise appropriate diligence on client’s cases, failed to appear for a hearing, failed to follow court orders and made misrepresentations to the court. He also was held in criminal contempt in three cases and sentenced to serve time in jail and/or pay a fine due to his failure to timely file briefs and comply with court directives. Download the BPR release for more details.
