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.
Chief Justice Gary Wade will administer the oath of office to Judge Don Ash on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Historic Rutherford County Courthouse. The Rutherford/Cannon County Bar Association will host a reception immediately following at the Maple Street Grill.
The Tennessee Bar Association's award-winning Court Square CLE Series is returning to 10 Tennessee communities, starting this week and continuing through October. Programs will be held in Dyersburg on Wednesday, Cleveland on Thursday, Manchester and Murfreesboro on Sept. 19, Dickson on Sept. 20, Jackson on Sept. 27, Kingsport on Oct. 11, Johnson City on Oct. 12, and Cookeville on Oct. 25. Information on the Columbia program will be available soon.
Jurors in Hamilton County returned a $3.5 million verdict for a motorcycle driver who sustained a severe head injury in a rear end collision that attorneys said was caused by a driver who was texting, the Chattanoogan.com website reports.
Close to 100 law students from 22 law schools interviewed with 18 law firms and agencies from across Tennessee during the second annual TBA Diversity Job Fair, Sept. 7-8 at the Tennessee Bar Center.
A Rutherford County juvenile detention center's release policies are under review after a man allegedly signed for the release of his stepdaughter under false pretenses, the Daily News Journal reports. The man has been charged with criminal impersonation and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. According to Nashville attorney David Raybin, the center has a legal obligation to ensure only appropriate parental or legal guardians sign a child out of the facility in case the child is harmed upon release.
The office of the Public Defender will likely represent minors who cannot afford legal counsel in Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court proceedings, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell told the Memphis Daily News last week, but that funding issues are still being worked out. Appearing on Behind the Headlines, Luttrell said he believes it is a necessary and beneficial change and that staffing and funding issues can be overcome.
Federal prosecutors want the maximum penalty for award-winning horse trainer Jackie McConnell, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to violate the Horse Protection Act. In a sentencing memorandum filed last week, prosecutor Steve Neff recommends McConnell receive the maximum sentence of 5 years probation, in addition to a fine up to $250,000 and a ban from “owning, exhibiting, selling, transporting, working with or training horses, or even assisting the training of horses.” Sentencing in the case has been rescheduled to Sept. 18, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.
In an order made public today, Senior Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood wrote that he has not lost his objectivity and will not step down in presiding over the torture slayings of a Knox County couple. "The court concludes that a person of ordinary prudence in the court's position, knowing all the facts known to the judge, would not find a reasonable basis for questioning the judge's impartiality," Blackwood wrote. The Knox County District Attorney General's pushed Blackwood to recuse himself from the cases of three of four defendants in the January 2007 slayings. The News Sentinel reports
John Jay Hooker on Friday told The TNReport that he expects to file a motion challenging Special Court Justice Andrée Sophia Blumstein's impartiality to hear his case on the constitutionality of the state’s judicial selection method. Gov. Haslam appointed Blumstein and four others to sit on a Special Supreme Court to hear the matter. Three of them recused themselves last week. Hooker says Blumstein's role on the editorial board of the Tennessee Bar Journal, a publication of the Tennessee Bar Association, poses a conflict because the association is in favor of the Tennessee Plan.
The Hamilton County Courthouse will celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2013, and there are many events planned to commemorate it. Events include a Christmas Open House, an Armed Forces Day Celebration in May, and Fourth of July festivities on the courthouse lawn that will include a laser light show and music. Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger is also planning a mini-museum featuring photographs of the current courthouse and its predecessors. The Hamilton County Herald has details
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will hear a case Sept. 21 that explores how far a judge can go in curbing expression in a courtroom. The issue arises from pro se litigant Robert Peoples' reaction after a South Carolina federal district judge dismissed his lawsuit last year. That caused Peoples to tell a clerk that the judge should "get the f--- off all my cases." The next day the judge, Cameron McGowan Currie, gave Peoples a four-month stint behind bars. The National Law Journal looks at obscenity and courtroom expression.
Kevin Balkwill, disciplinary counsel in the Litigation Division of the Board of Professional Responsibility, is the new president of the Tennessee CASA Association. Meagan Frazier Grosvenor steps down from the position after serving two years.
Gov. Bill Haslam issued Executive Order No. 20 last week on "ethics policy and disclosures" in the executive branch of state government. While spokesman David Smith said the new order brings "clarity by combining everything from the two (previous orders) into a single executive order," it does not open up information on private meetings held by the governor as had been requested by the online news service TNReport. "There's just a lot of discussions that we have, that any governor needs to have, as part of the decision-making process that we go through on so many different issues," the governor told TNReport, though adding he might "revisit" his stance at some point. The News Sentinel reports
The Tennessee Court of Appeals is expected to issue an opinion this week on the recall of Mayor Ron Littlefield. But no matter how the court rules, the Times Free Press points out, city voters still will be considering changes to recall rules in the City Charter in the Nov. 6 election.
Judge Don Ash talks with the Daily News Journal as he prepares to step away from the Circuit Court and into a new position as senior judge. Ash says he wants to travel the state and take on new responsibilities, especially with appellate opinions, while preparing for an opportunity to spend more time with his family.
A series of hearings across the state will give lawyers, community leaders and citizens an opportunity to discuss what works with the present conservatorship law, and how practice and procedure in conservatorships could be improved. The series begins on Sept. 20 at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville, with a 1 to 5 p.m. hearing. Other events are scheduled in Memphis Oct. 23, and East Tennessee locations Nov. 13-14. Hearings are being conducted by the TBA Special Committee on Conservatorship Practice and Procedure under the leadership of chair and Jackson lawyer Pam Wright. The committee welcomes written comments and brief testimony on the merits of the present conservatorship law found at TCA Title 34, Chapters 1 and 3, as well as suggestions for modifications that could improve its fairness, respect for rights, administration and procedure. Learn more about the hearings
Public hearings across the state are designed to gather information about how current law is working or could be improved
NASHVILLE, Sept. 10, 2012 -- The practice and procedure for protecting adults with diminished capacity, including frail elders, persons with developmental disabilities, individuals with physical disabilities, and persons with mental health or addiction issues, will be the subject of public hearings across the state this fall. The series begins with an event in Nashville Sept. 20.
Division IX of Shelby County Circuit Court will be closed this week, after the sudden death of Judge Robert L. Childers' daughter, Lisa Kay Childers Dickerson. She died Friday from complications of leukemia. Arrangements are incomplete at this time. For more information, contact court clerk Carlyse Nevels.
JUDY KYLE v. CITY OF JACKSON, TENNESSEE Court: TN Court of Appeals
Attorneys:
Spencer R. Barnes, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Judy Kyle.
Robert O. Binkley, Jr. and James V. Thompson, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellee, City of Jackson, Tennessee.
Judge: STAFFORD
This is a Governmental Tort Liability Case. The trial court determined that Appellant was at least 50% at fault for the injuries she sustained when she fell from an elevated stage at an event held at a building, which is owned and operated by Appellee City of Jackson. Discerning no error, we affirm.
DKB TRUCKING COMPANY, LLC v. JNJ EXPRESS, INC. Court: TN Court of Appeals
Attorneys:
Timothy A. Housholder, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, DKB Trucking, LLC.
Trevor L. Sharpe and Raymond G. Lewallen, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, JNJ Express, Inc.
Judge: BENNETT
Plaintiff sued for damages for the destruction of a tractor and trailer and for the loss of its use. Defendants moved for a directed verdict, arguing that loss of use and/or loss of profits cannot be recovered because the property was destroyed and it was not unique. The jury found liability for the destruction of the property and for loss of use and/or loss of profits. The trial court then granted a directed verdict on the loss of use/loss of profits, stating that such damages cannot be recovered for destroyed property. Plaintiff appeals. We reverse.
