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.
Gov. Bill Haslam announced Monday a budget amendment that includes funding for a more rapid decrease in a food tax cut and extra money for local jails. Increasing the state's daily payment to local jails by $2 a day is designed in part, Haslam says, to help break an impasse over his proposal to require incarceration for repeat domestic violence offenders. The $4 million jails reimbursement provision is the most expensive item in Haslam's budget plan. He also announced that weekend negotiations resulted in an agreement from the Tennessee State Employees Association to support his plan to overhaul state civil service rules. The Tennessean has this AP story
The House on Monday unanimously approved and sent to the governor a bill prohibiting any public official convicted of a crime related to his or her duties in office from receiving pretrial diversion. The measure has a direct connection to former Judge Richard Baumgartner, who received diversion last year on a charge of official misconduct. "We had an instance in Knox County where we had a judge who went out and committed crimes related to his office," sponsor Rep. Ryan Haynes, R-Knoxville, told colleagues who questioned the need for SB 2566. "He created a whole host of problems." The bill had already passed the Senate unanimously under the sponsorship of Sen. Ken Yager, R-Harriman. The News Sentinel reports
On Monday, Hawkins County Sessions Judge James “Jay” Taylor filed his response to five charges from the Board of Professional Responsibility by stating he had been advised by counsel to assert and invoke his Fifth Amendment right. A hearing will now be scheduled. Four of the charges Taylor faces pertain to allegations of theft against clients in his private practice. These charges are separate from four charges filed against Taylor in January by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. The Times News has more
U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan on Monday refused to reconsider his January denial of Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law’s request for injunctive relief in its antitrust suit against the American Bar Association. The judge also granted the ABA's motion to stay the litigation while the school pursues its administrative remedies, but denied without prejudice the association's motion to dismiss the case while that appeal is pending. Varlan, in a 21-page memorandum opinion and order, ordered the ABA to notify him of the outcome of that appeal by May 3, and gave the association 21 days from then to refile its motion for a dismissal. The ABA Journal has the story
At a specially called membership meeting March 17, members of the Young Lawyers Division unanimously approved an amendment to the division bylaws changing the designation of specialty bar representatives from non-voting board members to invited guests. The amendment vests authority for identifying the groups to be invited with the YLD Diversity Committee. The amendment now must be approved by the TBA Board of Governors, which is expected to consider the change at its spring meeting April 13-15. Learn more about the issue. For questions about the amendment or the amending process, contact Long Range Planning Committee Chair David McDowell at dmcdowell@gearhiserpeters.com or (423) 756-5171, or immediate past chair and president-elect David Veile at dveile@sbdlaw.net or (615) 550-2800.
Cheryl J. Castle, who has been Montgomery County's Circuit Court clerk since 1994, was recently appointed by general session judges as the county’s first Juvenile Court clerk. With the change, the county has joined ranks with the other 94 Tennessee counties who have juvenile court clerks overseeing their juvenile court systems. The Leaf-Chronicle has the story
Coburn Dewees Berry III died yesterday (April 1) in Franklin, after a brief illness. He was 89. Berry graduated in 1948 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a staff member of the Law Review and member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. He practiced law for more than 60 years in Nashville and Franklin and was known for his expertise in real property, trust, probate and municipal law. A memorial service will be held at Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church on Thursday at 11 a.m. Visitation with the family will be at the church on Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m., and one hour before the service on Thursday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church. Read his obituary
Jackson lawyer Paul Meyers died on Saturday (March 31) while running the Andrew Jackson Half-Marathon. He was 33. The assistant public defender collapsed on the course and was transported to Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Jackson Sun has more. Funeral arrangements are not complete at this time.
The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended the law license of Knoxville attorney John O. Threadgill on March 30, pursuant to Section 14 of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, based upon his plea of guilty to a serious crime, in this case, theft. The court further ordered the Board of Professional Responsibility to institute a formal proceeding to determine the extent of final discipline to be imposed as a result of the conviction. Download the BPR release
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a new tax this week that will require people to pay to have their name cleared upon the completion of diversion. HB 2774, sponsored by Rep. Eric Watson, R-Cleveland, introduces the new tax, which includes $100 that must be paid to the court when requesting diversion. Chattanoogan columnist and lawyer Lee Davis calls the new measure “a bad idea.” Read more
In an editorial, Murfreesboro’s Daily News Journal says that a proposed $50 million judicial complex just off the Public Square will be “a tough sell.” But the paper encourages supporters of the project to prove to the taxpayers that justice is poorly served in the existing Judicial Building and move forward with construction. “It is incumbent on the judicial community to make a more persuasive argument for the funds to move forward,” the editorial says.
State Sen. Stacey Campfield responded on his blog to the Gingrich campaign’s request to not seat him at the Republican National Convention. It turns out, Campfield writes, it is up to the delegate, not the campaign, on whether or not a substitution can be made. “Not a good way to ingratiate yourself to the one person who can help you,” he writes. Humphrey on the Hill has more
The parents of Trayvon Martin want the U.S. Justice Department to review the Seminole County prosecutor's investigation of their son's death, their lawyer, Benjamin Crump, said. Crump, who represents parents Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, sent a formal request to the Justice Department today (April 2) to examine State Attorney Norm Wolfinger's interactions with police the night of Martin's shooting. Last week, it was revealed that the Sanford Police Department requested an arrest warrant from the Seminole County State Attorney's Office, but the office held off until the case could be further reviewed. NBC News has more
In this month's issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal, Scott Griswold explains recent Supreme Court rulings that affect general contractors and their liability for work done by subcontractors, while David Pitts and Kevin Reopel give you the scoop on calculating economic damages. TBA President Danny Van Horn reminds us that taking time for rest is not a bad thing — it’s okay to disconnect every now and then! Kathryn Reed Edge outines bank failures in Tennessee and Dan Holbrook takes a hard look at questionable will executions. Finally, you won’t want to miss Bill Haltom’s take on a news station’s recent depiction of a jury trial — using puppets. Read the Journal online
Memphis lawyer George T. “Buck" Lewis was appointed chair of the Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission on Friday. Board member Douglas Blaze was reappointed, with his term expiring in 2015. New members Anthony Alan Seaton of Johnson City, David R. Esquivel of Nashville, and Marcia Eason of Chattanooga were appointed for three-year terms. The terms of Margaret L. Behm, Kathryn Reed Edge and Gregory Ramos expired March 31. All but Blaze did not wish to be reappointed. Commissioner Maura Abeln Smith, whose term expires in 2014, and Commissioner Frank Anthony Thomas, whose term expires next year, resigned. Sharon Rose Beth Ryan of Memphis will serve the remainder of Smith’s term, and J. Houston Gordon of Covington will serve out Thomas’s term. Download the court's order
Law schools are being asked to double-check figures on average student debt submitted to the American Bar Association after some school officials raised concerns that they may have underreported the figure. The problem came to light after U.S. News & World Report published lists of schools this week with the highest and lowest average student debt. Law schools were supposed to provide the ABA figures on total law school debt for 2010-2011 graduates. Some schools, however, apparently provided the amount of debt incurred by graduating students for just one year of their studies. The debt figures are not used by U.S. News in compiling its rankings, according to Robert Morse, director of data research for U.S. News. Learn more from the ABA Journal
Tennessee senators voted on Thursday 30-0 to replace the Court of the Judiciary with a new 16-member board called the Board of Judicial Conduct, which would be appointed by judges, legislative leaders and the governor. The board would be comprised of 10 judges and 6 non-judges. The measure, SB 2671, also sets up a procedure for investigating complaints against judges and requires the board to report regularly to the legislature on how grievances are resolved. A companion bill is being scheduled for a vote on the House floor. Get details on how the panel would be appointed The Tennessean has more
Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign has asked that state Sen. Stacey Campfield not be seated as a Tennessee delegate to the Republican National Convention, even though he won election as a delegate in Super Tuesday voting. Campfield served as co-chairman of Gingrich's campaign, but then resigned that post and endorsed Rick Santorum for the Republican presidential nomination on the weekend before Tennessee's primary vote. The News Sentinel has more
In a March 24 editorial, the Wall Street Journal declared Gov. Bill Haslam "the main obstacle to reform" of Tennessee's inheritance tax. Now Haslam has replied with a letter to the editor of the publication that appears under the headline, "I'm Not the Problem on Death Tax Reform." The News Sentinel has more
In an editorial, the News Sentinel says that the U.S Supreme Court’s decision about the Affordable Care Act will affect Tennesseans either way it goes and that the state legislature must be poised to act. “The Legislature has put off setting up a health care exchange, with the Republican majority betting on the law's demise,” the paper says. “But if it passes, lawmakers must act before the end of the year or allow the federal government to create one. And if the law is struck down, it must be replaced with a law that addresses the failures of the health care system that gave birth to the law in the first place.” Read the editorial
