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New TBALink search engine offers more power
TBALink is offering a new Google-powered search engine to give you more power in searching our online database of Tennessee court decisions, Attorney General's opinions, Tennessee Bar Journal articles and more.
http://www.tba.org/tba_searchlink2.html
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TODAY'S OPINIONS
Click on the category of your choice to view summaries of today’s opinions from that court, or other body. A link at the end of each case summary will let you download the full opinion in PDF format. To search all opinions in the TBALink database, go to our OpinionSearch page. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password, you can look it up on TBALink at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi.
01 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
01 - TN Court of Appeals
06 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
TBA members can get the full-text versions of these opinions three ways detailed below.
All methods require a TBA username and password. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password,
you can look it up on-line at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi
Here's how you can obtain full-text version. We recommend you download the Opinions to your computer and then
open them from there. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This should give you the option to
download the original document. If not, you may need to right-click on the URL to get the option to save the file
to your computer. Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view
and save a plain-text version of the opinion. Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink.
This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion.
Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
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TOMMY D. LANIUS v. NASHVILLE ELECTRIC SERVICE
Court: TSC
Attorneys:
C. Dewey Branstetter Jr. and Eugene W. Ward, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Nashville
Electric Service.
Arthur E. McClellan, Gallatin, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tommy D. Lanius.
Judge: BARKER
Pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, we accepted this interlocutory appeal from the Chancery Court of Sumner County in which the defendant, Nashville Electric Service, seeks dismissal or, in the alternative, transfer of this workers' compensation case to Davidson County, its county of residence, on the grounds, inter alia, of sovereign immunity and the common law local venue rule. We hold that the defendant is subject to the venue provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act because it voluntarily entered into the workers' compensation system pursuant to an express grant of authority from the General Assembly, which thus effected a waiver of its sovereign immunity. We further hold that the specific venue provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act control venue and apply to the exclusion of the common law local venue rule. Accordingly, the defendant may be sued in the plaintiff’s county of residence, Sumner County.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2005/laniust12205.pdf
IN RE ESTATE OF TOY M. BEAN
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
William Carter Conway, Franklin, Tennessee, for the appellant, Robert G. Bean.
Virginia Lee Story and Henry Denmark Bell, Franklin, Tennessee, for the appellees, Lola Parks
Blanchet, Coy Matthew Bean, Mary Katherine Harper, Beverly Ann Iott, and Roberta Lynn Faulkner.
Judge: KOCH
This appeal concerns a dispute among six siblings over the validity of their father's will. One month after his father’s death, the youngest child filed a petition in the Chancery Court for Williamson County to probate a will his father had executed in July 1998. The testator's five older children
contested this will on the grounds that their father lacked testamentary capacity and that the youngest child had procured the will by undue influence. Following a three day trial, a jury determined that the July 1998 will was invalid. After the trial court denied his post-trial motions, the youngest child appealed, taking issue with several evidentiary rulings, the adequacy of the instructions, and the evidentiary foundation for the verdict. We have determined that the trial court did not commit
reversible error during the trial and that the record contains material evidence that the youngest child
procured his father's July 1998 will by undue influence. We have also concluded that the trial court erred by requiring the estate to pay the youngest child's attorney’s fees.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2005/beant12205.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CLAUDE FRANCIS GARRETT
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Dwight E. Scott, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Claude Francis Garrett.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Preston Shipp, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Jon Seaborg and Nancy Kim, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
The defendant, Claude Francis Garrett, appeals his Davidson County Criminal Court jury conviction of first degree felony murder, which resulted in a sentence of life imprisonment. On appeal, he claims that (1) the convicting evidence was insufficient; (2) three prosecution witnesses presented false testimony; (3) the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony; (4) the trial court erroneously instructed the jury on various points of law; (5) the trial court erred in
failing to require a witness to answer defense counsel's questions on cross-examination; (6) the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for the payment of travel expenses for a non-resident witness; (7) the state withheld exculpatory evidence; and (8) he was denied due process
of law. Following our review, we affirm the conviction.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/garrettc12205.pdf
JOHN ALLEN HESSMER V. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
John Allen Hessmer, Pro Se, Pikeville, Tennessee John Allen Hessmer, Pro Se, Pikeville, Tennessee
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: SMITH
This matter is before the Court upon the State’s motion to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The petitioner has appealed the trial court’s order summarily dismissing the petition for writ of habeas corpus. Upon a review of the record in this case, we are persuaded that the trial court was correct in summarily dismissing the habeas corpus petition and that this case meets the criteria or affirmance pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/hessmerj12205.pdf
DANNY RAY MEEKS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Danny Ray Meeks, Appellant, Pro Se.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; and Blind Akrawi and Richard H. Dunavant, Assistant Attorneys General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
Aggrieved of the Davidson County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief, the petitioner, Danny Ray Meeks, appeals. The habeas corpus court dismissed the petition because the petitioner did not make a partial payment of the filing fee as required by Code section 41-21-807. Although we believe that the court acted precipitantly, we affirm the order of dismissal on the basis that the petition fails to establish a claim for habeas corpus relief.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/meeksd12205.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DAVID M. OLVERA
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
David G. Hirshberg, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, David M. Olvera.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth T. Ryan, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Bret T. Gunn and Robert E. McGuire, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: GLENN
The defendant, David M. Olvera, was convicted of first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery and sentenced to concurrent terms of life and twenty years, respectively. On appeal, he argues: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement to police; (3) the trial court erred in allowing an intern from the district attorney general’s office to participate in reading the defendant’s statement to the jury; and (4) the trial court erred in charging the jury on flight. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/olverad12205.pdf
TERRY PENNY v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
C. Leland Davis and Bryan H. Hoss, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Terry Penny.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner, Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney General; and Lila Statom, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: GLENN
The petitioner, Terry Penny, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his motion for a corrected judgment and his petition for post-conviction relief arguing his 1976 judgment should be corrected pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 and his post-conviction petition was not time- barred by the statute of limitations. Following our review, we affirm the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/pennyt12205.pdf
DANIEL BENSON TAYLOR v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Daniel Benson Taylor, Pro Se.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Blind Akrawi, Assistant Attorney General; Ron Davis, District Attorney General; and Michael Markham, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
The Petitioner, Daniel Benson Taylor, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s denial of the petition pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2005/taylord12205.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
BPR Actions
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| Legal News |
| Zoccola sworn in as new president of Memphis Bar |
| Outgoing President Susan Clark surrendered the gavel to Barbara Zoccola during the bar's annual meeting Thursday. Zoccola sounded her theme of "Law Inspires" and set forth an ambitious program for the coming year. Other officers for the coming year include
David Cook, vice president; Amy Amundsen, treasurer; and Art Quinn, secretary.
Also at the meeting, Robert Green received the Jerome Turner Lawyer's Lawyer award; Ed Stanton was the Sam Myar Memorial Award winner and the law firms Wyatt Tarrant and
Combs and Ford and Harrison received the W.J. Michael Cody Pro Bono award.
The keynote speaker was 6th Circuit Judge Martha Craig "Cissy" Daughtrey, who spoke on her concerns with attempts to compromise judicial independence and warned that next year's judicial elections could bring a spate of attacks. She emphasized that lawyers "must bear most of the responsibility to be a voice for the Rule of Law" in this environment.
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| Garrett dies, Baumgartner to fill set temporarily |
| Knox County Juvenile Court Judge Carey E. Garrett, 73, died early Thursday at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since October with a variety of illnesses. Judicial referees in juvenile court have been hearing cases in the judge's absence. His son is Assistant District Attorney General Steve Garrett. |
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| TBA Bankruptcy Section welcomes lawyers seminar |
| The TBA Bankruptcy Section hosted a reception Thursday night for the MidSouth Commercial Law Institute Seminar in Nashville. The section has two bankruptcy seminars planned for spring 2006. Watch for details on "How Things are Working Under the New Act" and "The Impact of the new Bankruptcy Act on Family Law". |
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| BPR Actions |
| Chattanooga lawyer temporarily suspended by Supreme Court |
| By Order of the Supreme Court of Tennessee filed Nov. 23, Howard Brownlow Barnwell's license to practice law was temporarily suspended, pursuant to Rules of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, upon a finding that Mr. Barnwell had failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning a complaint of misconduct and posed a threat of irreparable harm to the public. |
Barnwell1_12_01_05.pdf
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