Tennessee Bar Journal
September 2008 • Vol. 44, No. 9

New Tennessee Law May Reduce Frivolous Suits but Make Valid Claims More Difficult

In May, Governor Phil Bredesen signed into law amendments to Tennessee’s Medical Malpractice Act. The amendments introduce three new concepts to Tennessee’s medical malpractice litigation framework: 1) a pre-suit notice requirement; 2) speedy medical records production; and 3) Certificates of Good Faith. This article discusses the details of each of these new requirements and considers how implementation will fu

Review of the 2007 Term of United States Supreme Court Opinions

During its 2007 Term, the high court made headlines. High-profile cases sparked media coverage, captured public attention and generated intense debate. The subjects of these far-reaching pronouncements ranged from guns to Guantanamo, from child porn to child rapists and the death penalty, and from the nation’s worst maritime environmental disaster to the regulatory response to California’s 1999 energy crisis when in-state rates for electricity jumped fifteenfold.

The court expansi

Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b): What Constitutes Harmless Error?

When is wrongfully admitted “other bad act” evidence harmless error? What is the standard for deciding whether the “other bad act” introduction was harmless or the conviction should be reversed for new trial? The Tennessee Supreme Court decided this arcane but important issue in State v. Edwardo Rodriguez, 2008 Tenn. LEXIS 274 (2008).[1] To understand this issue, an examination of the “other purposes” exception to Rule 404(b) is relevant.[2]

The courts have defined the “other purpos...
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President's Perspective

Struggling to Be More Like Malinda and Frank

Buck Lewis
President

“You make me want to be a better man.”

— Jack Nicholson complimenting Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets

At a recent office party, our office’s managing partner was called upon to make some remarks about me. Malinda was in attendance, so he naturally waxed eloquently about how Malinda had done a
great job of saving me from myself these last 19 years. My law partner reminisced about how in t

Letters of the Law

Journal Should Provide Information, Not Political Opinions

I began reading this article (“Business License Revocation: Is This What Tennessee Needs?” July 2008 Tenn. Bar Journal) in order to try to determine what the new Tennessee law provided. The deeper I got into the article the more it became clear it was primarily a political opinion piece by two attorneys. I read the Bar Journal to become better informed on different areas of the law, not to read the political opinions of lawyers regard

News

Deadline Sept. 5

Bar Foundation Announces IOLTA Grant Process

The Tennessee Bar Foundation, through the Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program, provides grant awards to organizations that provide direct civil legal services to the indigent or that seek to improve the administration of justice. Applications for the 2009 grants are available on the foundation’s Web site. Completed applications must be postmarked no later than midnight, Sept. 5. For more information, contact the foun

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Table of Contents

New Tennessee Law May Reduce Frivolous Suits but Make Valid Claims More Difficult

Struggling to Be More Like Malinda and Frank

Journal Should Provide Information, Not Political Opinions

Bar Foundation Announces IOLTA Grant Process