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.
Associate attorneys rank at the top of the list ... the list of "unhappiest jobs" in America, that is. The ABA Journal reports that CareerBliss complied the list on reviews completed by more than 65,000 employees last year, rating key factors that affect happiness on the job, including work-life balance, relationships with bosses and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks and control over daily work. Improving health and happiness will be part of a program at this year’s Tennessee Bar Association Annual Convention in Nashville. The session “Keep on the Sunny Side: Better Next Year” offers a range of opportunities to explore a healthier life, build better relationships, manage stress, and use relaxation techniques to find the balance needed at home and at the office. The program will be a part of the CLE lineup during the June 12-15 event.
The Tennessean and other media groups asked Chancellor Carol McCoy to require the Department of Children’s Services to release at no cost information about the deaths of children who had come in contact with the state agencies. After the successful lawsuit to require the state to release the documents, officials said it would cost more than $34,000, which the groups are calling “grossly excessive” and impeding upon the fundamental right of access to government records. Knoxnews has the story.
Gov. Bill Haslam said he would likely veto a Republican bill to remove voting power for Tennessee’s two U.S. senators from the voters in open statewide primaries to the state legislators, the Commercial Appeal reports. A few hours after Haslam’s announcement, the House version of the bill was deferred to 2014. The Senate version was delayed by sponsor Sen. Frank Nicely, R-Strawberry Plans, to the last day of the 2013 legislative season.
Legislation to change the way workers’ compensation claims are considered in Tennessee on Monday overwhelmingly passed the Senate 28-2, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The companion bill was set for consideration by the House Finance Committee today. Opponents to the bill say it would reduce benefits and remove impartiality from the judgment process.
Rep. Jim Cooper said yesterday that he has long favored recognition of gay marriage although he recognizes some churches might not want to do the same. A report in The Hill, a Washington publication that focuses on Congress, implied that Cooper changed his position. In response, he said in a statement that his view does not represent a change in position and that he has said for years that “people who are willing to enter into a committed, life-long relationship should be able to do so.” The Tennessean has the story.
Tennessee Bar Association members have elected William “Bill” Harbison of the Nashville firm Sherrard & Roe PLC as their new vice president. After serving a year as vice president, Harbison will ascend to president-elect in 2014-2015 before taking over the organization’s leadership in June 2015. Harbison has previously served as general counsel and as secretary on the TBA Board of Governors and has been president of the Nashville Bar Association. In his campaign for the office, Harbison said he wanted to contribute to the TBA’s role as a voice for the legal profession in Tennessee. Also elected in the voting, which ended Monday, was Jonesborough attorney Erin McArdle, who was chosen to serve as First District Governor. You can see a complete list of TBA leaders elected in 2013 to serve in the 2013-2014 membership.
The REAL program (Reaching Excellence As Leaders), which helps keep juvenile offenders from returning to the system, is in danger of closing when a grant from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth expires June 30. Over the past three years, the program has helped more than 300 young people, with 85 percent not reoffending after graduation. The Justice Policy Institute listed Tennessee as one of the top five states in the nation for reducing juvenile confinement. WKRN has the story.
A federal appeals court has thrown out nearly $94 million worth of Medicare and Medicaid fraud cases won by U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin’s office in Nashville, possibly restricting how federal prosecutors can pursue health-care fraud cases in the future, the Tennessean reports. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision on Monday reversed an $11.1 million judgment against a Georgia medical company with three local clinics accused by federal prosecutors of Medicare fraud. The reversal comes just months after an $82.6 million judgment against three other local companies was also dismissed.
A Fayette County grand jury has indicted Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Jackie McConnell and two co-defendants on 38 counts of animal cruelty for illegally soring and torturing horses, the Chattanoogan reports. The indictments followed an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States in 2011. McConnell is already serving three years of probation and has been fined $75,000 for federal felony convictions.
Georgia legislators passed a resolution authorizing the state’s attorney general to sue Tennessee if it does not voluntarily give up a 1.5-square-mile parcel of land along the Nickajack Reservoir in order to access water from the Tennessee River. The debate over the land has been an issue since 1818 when surveyors incorrectly mapped out the border between the states and placed it too far south, according to Georgia lawmakers. The Tennessean has the story.
The chart below shows the members who have been elected this year to lead the Tennessee Bar Association during the 2013-2014 membership year (July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014). The TBA Board of Governors and House of Delegates will fill seats where no one filed. Member voting began Feb. 22, 2013 and ended April 1, 2013.
The Tennessee Supreme Court on April 1 issued two orders suspending Tennessee-licensed attorneys who did not pay their registration fee to the Board of Professional Responsibility, and those who did not pay the fee and also 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. Lawyers who since have complied with the requirements are noted as reinstated. See the updated lists and download the orders.
Cookeville lawyer Rachel M. Moses has been elected vice president of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and will serve as its president in 2015-2016. She will take office in June. Moses, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, has served for many years as YLD District 6 Representative. She also is a member of the TBA Public Education Committee and chair of its YouTube Video Contest Subcommittee. She previously was president of the Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers Association, a group she was instrumental in forming. Moses was deemed elected after the filing deadline passed and she was unopposed for the post. The YLD will decide one contested election – that of District 9 Representative – at its Annual Meeting June 14 in Nashville. Candidates for that position are Jonathan S. Carlton with Harrington Law Office and Charles L. “Chip” Howorth with Smith Cashion & Orr. Both are in Nashville. See a report of all election results.
Cookeville lawyer Rachel M. Moses has been elected vice president of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and will serve as its president in 2015-2016. She will take office in June. Moses, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, has served for many years as YLD District 6 Representative. She also is a member of the TBA Public Education Committee and chair of its YouTube Video Contest Subcommittee. She previously was president of the Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers Association, a group she was instrumental in forming.
Kathleen Gomes has been selected as interim probate judge by the Shelby County Commission, the Administrative Office of Courts reported today. Gomes replaces retiring Probate Court Judge Robert Benham, who has served in that role since 1997. The interim judge will serve until the county election in August 2014.
A number of bills of interest to lawyers may see action before the end of the session. They include:
Lawyer Regulation -- A bill (SB 779/HB 635) to impose criminal sanctions on Board of Professional Responsibility panel members, staff, lawyers subject to discipline, and their counsel for certain procedural violations could see action in committees in both chambers. The TBA has resisted this unwelcome intrusion in the Supreme Court’s disciplinary process.
Tort -- Codification of comparative fault with limitations of joint and several liability in several types of cases that the courts have carved out by common law -- including products liability and cases with combined intentional and negligent actors -- still awaits House committee action (SB 56/HB 1099).
Collateral Source Rule --The effort to limit the effect of the collateral source rule (SB 1184/HB 978) will be studied for now but could return next year.
Workers Compensation Overhaul -- The Workers Compensation overhaul (SB 200/HB 194) continues its march towards expected passage. According to the Associated Press, the plan is scheduled for a full Senate vote on Monday night with the House Finance Committee taking it up on Tuesday.
Conservatorship -- The work of the TBA’s Special Committee on Conservatorship Practice and Procedure has been adopted by the Senate (SB 555/HB 692) and should see action in the House Civil Justice Committee this week.
Trust Law -- A bill (SB 713/HB 873) to rewrite Tennessee trust law and a 52-page amendment debuted 10 days ago will see action in the House Civil Justice Committee.
Criminal --The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear about legislation (SB 1362/HB 1293) permitting prosecution of an alleged repeat child abuser in any county where an act of of abuse allegedly occurred, and permitting evidence of all prior child abuse by declaring past offenses to be a "continuing offense.”
New records released under a settlement of The Commercial Appeal’s lawsuit against the FBI show the extent to which civil rights movement photographer Ernest Withers provided information to the bureau. Among the 785 pages of documents released, according to the Associated Press, are photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s staff, including a top aid and a Southern Christian Leadership Conference field organizer. Also included are photographs of King supporters reacting to his death and one of King’s widow speaking after the assassination. Although Withers did little direct informing on King, his reports to the agency on others are indicative of what one historian calls a "vacuum cleaner approach" to FBI surveillance: collecting everything possible for possible later use.
Roane County Courthouse employees have been cleared of any criminal conduct, but a grand jury has recommended that the county adopt guidelines regarding computer use after an employee was taped viewing pornography on a county computer while working overtime at night. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) was brought in after coworkers – who had set up the taping with their own laptops -- alleged they were threatened by a supervisor to keep the matter quiet. Knoxnews has the story.
First Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Lynn Brown last week closed out his long career by signing his last legal order. The Johnson City Press reports that it was a “a peaceful conclusion to a 24-year career in which he had presided over some of the most newsworthy trials in Upper East Tennessee…” In an interview with the paper, Brown talks about his inspiration for a career in the law, why he took the hardest courses he could in law school and which of the many cases he handled as a prosecutor are the most memorable.
With the General Assembly racing towards its earliest finish in more than a decade, several legislative issues affecting lawyers -- including the fate of the Judicial Nominating Commision and the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission -- still remain to be resolved before the expected April 19 adjournment. The sunset extension of the Judicial Nominating Commission, which is in wind down mode and will go totally out of existence on June 30, has passed the House but still awaits Senate committee action. There will be no authority to fill vacancies on any trial or appellate bench after June 30 without legislative action. The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which must make recommendations regarding retention of appellate judges in the run up to the August 2014 election, also faces sunset on June 30. It will then have a year to wind down its business before going out of existence in June 2014. See a roundup of other legislative issues under the General Assembly category at right.
