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 Shelby County Commission was unable to reach agreement on Monday in the months-old redistricting debate about district maps for the 2014 commission elections and beyond. The next significant steps will likely come in Chancery Court, the Commercial Appeal reports.
Greene County leads the state in fees collected from defendants who are assigned court-appointed lawyers, the Greeneville Sun reports. General Sessions Court Judge Kenneth Bailey Jr. said he and Criminal Court Judge John Dugger Jr. make sure that defendants pay their fair share and do not burden taxpayers. "I feel like especially if people can find the money to bond out of jail, they need to find the money to pay for their appointed attorney," Bailey said.
On the second day of arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Supreme Court conservative justices put the Obama administration's top lawyer on the defensive, possibly forecasting a closer-than-expected Supreme Court decision, the Blog of Legal Times says. The justices appeared split on whether the federal government can force people to buy health insurance, according to National Public Radio. The court's conservatives appeared skeptical and unmoved by the government's arguments in favor of the mandate that requires just about everyone in the U.S. to have health insurance starting in 2014.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a lower court ruling allowing human genes to be patented, a topic of enormous interest to cancer researchers, patients and drug makers. The court overturned patents belonging to Myriad Genetics Inc. of Salt Lake City on two genes linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The Daily News has the AP story
Mike Carter announced Monday he will run for Tennessee's newly redrawn House District 29. JoAnne Favor, who is now running for the newly redrawn District 28, held the seat before. News 12 reports
In qualifying for the race to fill the 26th district Circuit Court Judge position, Chester County attorney Lloyd Tatum says he’s a strong candidate because of his experience in criminal, domestic and personal injury cases. “As a small-town lawyer, we have to do everything,” he said. The seat was left vacant when Judge Roger Page was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The Jackson Sun reports
The American Bar Association is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that four provisions of Arizona's controversial anti-illegal immigration law, known as S.B. 1070, are unconstitutional because they are pre-empted by federal immigration law. The four provisions were enjoined by lower federal court rulings before the law went into effect. In an amicus brief filed late Monday in State of Arizona et al. v. United States of America, the ABA urges affirmance of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, stating that none of these provisions can be implemented by Arizona without inevitably conflicting with the federal system of statutes and regulations that is carried out by federal agencies and specialized courts. The ABA has more
Lance W. Parr, formerly of Athens, was suspended on March 23 for one year by the Tennessee Supreme Court. He must also be evaluated by the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) and comply with all TLAP’s recommendations as a condition to any reinstatement. Among other actions, Parr represented a client in a divorce with whom he was having an affair, and he failed to adequately advise the client of the conflict or obtain a waiver of the conflict. A hearing panel determined that his actions violated Rule 1.7 (conflicts); 3.1 (meritorious claims); 3.3 (candor toward the tribunal); and 8.4 (misconduct). Download the release from the BPR
News from the Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC and Community Health Systems were recognized for their commitment to providing free legal services to the poor at the 6th Annual Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Gala March 24 in Nashville. The event featured remarks by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Connie Clark and Herbert Slatery, legal counsel to Governor Bill Haslam.
Former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner is now under federal probe, officials confirmed Friday. "The case remains open and ongoing, and TBI agents are continuing to investigate Baumgartner," federal prosecutor spokeswoman Kristin Helm said in an email. "Specifically, we are looking at possible federal violations with the U.S. Attorney's Office." Read more in the News Sentinel
In SNPCO Inc v. City of Jefferson City et al, the Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld previous rulings by the trial court and the Court of Appeals that a city ordinance prohibiting the sale of fireworks inside city limits did apply to businesses incorporated into the city even though the business had been selling fireworks since 2006. Learn more from the Administrative Office of the Court
Sixty-two students from eight law schools spent their week off digging into real-world issues at Alternative Spring Break, hosted during March by the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Students chose from service tracks like assisting with special-case immigration, helping senior citizens write wills and health directives, or drafting public-interest legislation involving the mentally ill, money lending or human trafficking. The Commercial Appeal features the project
Edwin Arnold, who served in the Tennessee House of Representatives and was also an assistant prosecutor, has died after being struck by a car on Saturday, March 24. He was 77. A graduate of Cumberland University School of Law, he was in the Tennessee General Assembly from 1963-67. Arnold also served Blount, Loudon and Roane counties as an assistant district attorney. His funeral was Monday at First Baptist Church in Loudon. The News Sentinel has his obituary.
The University of Tennessee College of Law will preview a pilot program on Tuesday that will focus on states’ attorneys general, combining classroom instruction with a summer externship experience. Bob Cooper and Jim Hood, attorneys general in Tennessee and Mississippi, respectively, will speak at the event, which is at noon in room 237 at the College of Law. The pilot course will cover a range of topics that fall under the scope of authority for attorneys general found under most state statutes. Students will learn the role of the attorney general and how a state’s attorney general represents the state itself and the interests of its citizen. Learn more
Attorneys for the family of Trayvon Martin and the Florida neighborhood watch captain who fatally shot the unarmed teen are speaking out in the case. An attorney representing the neighborhood watch captain, 28-year-old George Zimmerman, broadly defended his client and said he believes evidence will show that Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law was properly applied. Daryl D. Parks, the Martin family attorney, said federal officials and local officials met with the teen’s family Thursday and gave them “a strong sense that (the Department of) Justice was very committed” to investigating the case. Zimmerman has not been charged in the Feb. 26 shooting that has ignited racial tensions and raised questions about the local police’s handling of the case. The Columbia Daily Herald carried this AP story. In Nashville, about 600 people attended a rally at the base of Capitol Hill on Saturday, calling for justice in Martin's shooting death.
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued the first order of the year on March 12, suspending attorneys who did not pay their 2012 registration fee to the Board of Professional Responsibility and did not file a mandatory compliance statement that eligible client funds are held in accounts participating in the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. The court also issued a separate order for those attorneys who paid their fee but did not file the IOLTA report. Beginning in January, the court began entering administrative suspension orders on a monthly basis, based on attorney birthdates. Suspension lists will be issued each month for those attorneys who do not meet filing requirements for that month. See the list of those suspended to date
Community Health Systems and Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC were recognized for their commitment to providing free legal services to the poor at the 6th Annual Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Gala Saturday, March 24, in Nashville. CHS received the Corporate Legal Department Award for its dedicated staffing of a monthly legal advice clinic in Franklin. Baker Donelson received the Law Firm Award for its work in helping create OnlineTNJustice.org, a website that allows lawyers to provide brief advice and counsel via the internet. The event featured remarks by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Connie Clark and Legal Counsel to the Governor Herbert Slatery. The Pro Bono Initiative is a partnership between the Tennessee Bar Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel, which encourages and supports pro bono activities by lawyers serving as in-house and corporate counsel in the state.
Rep. Scotty Campbell of Mountain City became the third Republican to announce he will not run for reelection in the House. Ten Democratic incumbents have announced they won't seek re-election this year, the Commercial Appeal reports.
