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Senate panel recommends Alito on party-line vote
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito received approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee today and likely will face a contentious fight on the Senate floor later this week. Members of the committee voted for Alito’s nomination on a 10-8 party-line vote, with all Democrats opposing him, CNN reported.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/24/alito/index.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.
00 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
01 - TN Court of Appeals
05 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
02 - 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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DEBORAH JAIME v. AMERICAN WATER HEATER COMPANY
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Howard R. Dunbar, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellant, Deborah Jaime.
Steven H. Trent, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellee, American Water Heater Company.
Judge: SUSANO
The plaintiff brought this action against her former employer, alleging that the defendant
terminated her employment in retaliation for her pursuit of a claim for workers’ compensation
benefits. The trial court granted the defendant summary judgment, holding that the plaintiff
failed to establish a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge and that she also failed to rebut the
defendant’s proffered legitimate reason for termination. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/jaimed012406.pdf
WILLIAM E. EAKES, III v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Ryan Caldwell, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, William E. Eakes, III.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General;
Victor S. Johnson, District Attorney General; and Dan Hamm, Assistant District Attorney General,
for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
This is an appeal as of right from the summary dismissal of a petition for post-conviction relief. The
trial court dismissed the amended post-conviction petition because the court found the petition was
not verified under oath and failed to include the factual basis upon which relief was sought. We
affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/eakesw012406.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BRYANT GUARTOS, a.k.a. BRYANT GUARTOS CHARRY, a.k.a. BRIAN GUARTOS, a.k.a. BRIAN CRUZ, a.k.a. HECTOR CRUZ DELEON
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
David L. Raybin, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal), and Michael Colavecchio, Nashville, Tennessee
(at trial), for the appellant, Bryant Guartos, a.k.a. Bryant Guartos Charry, a.k.a. Brian Guartos, a.k.a.
Brian Cruz, a.k.a. Hector Cruz DeLeon.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General;
Victor S. (Torry) Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Bret Thomas Gunn, Assistant District
Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: TIPTON
A Davidson County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Bryant Guartos, of first degree
felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony, aggravated robbery, a Class B
felony, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced
the defendant as a Range I, standard offender to life imprisonment for the murder, twenty-five years
for the especially aggravated robbery, and twelve years for the aggravated robbery, and as a Range
II, multiple offender to ten years for the conspiracy, ordering the sentences to run consecutively for
an effective total sentence of life imprisonment plus forty-seven years. The defendant appeals,
claiming that the evidence is insufficient, that newly discovered evidence exists, that his right to due
process was violated for various reasons, that the police obtained his confession in violation of the
federal constitution, that the trial court erred in allowing inadmissible hearsay into evidence, and that
the trial court improperly sentenced him under state law and the rule announced in Blakely v.
Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). Concluding that no reversible error exists, we
affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/guartosb012406.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JAMES THOMAS MANNING
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
David Neal Brady, District Public Defender; and H. Marshall Judd, Assistant Public Defender,
Cookeville, Tennessee, for the appellant, James Thomas Manning.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Preston Shipp, Assistant Attorney General;
William Edward Gibson, District Attorney General; David A. Patterson, Assistant District Attorney
General; and Benjamin W. Fann, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of
Tennessee.
Judge: WOODALL
On April 15, 1998, the Putnam County Grand Jury indicted Defendant, James Thomas
Manning, on one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated rape, one count of
attempted aggravated sexual battery, and one count of aggravated robbery. Following a jury trial,
Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated rape, a Class A felony, and one count of
aggravated burglary, a Class C felony. The jury acquitted Defendant of attempted aggravated sexual
battery and could not reach a verdict on the aggravated robbery charge. Defendant received
concurrent twenty-five year sentences for each of the aggravated rape convictions, and a consecutive
six year sentence for the aggravated burglary conviction, for an effective thirty-one year sentence.
These sentences were ordered to be served consecutively to a prior sentence out of Sumner County
being served by Defendant at the time of trial and sentencing. In his appeal, Defendant argues that
the trial court erred by (1) denying his motion to strike expert testimony for failure to lay a proper
foundation; (2) excluding evidence that the victim had pending charges for aggravated assault; (3)
violating double jeopardy principles in allowing Defendant to be convicted of two counts of
aggravated rape; and (4) imposing consecutive sentences. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/manningj012406.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BERNARD THOMAS NELSON
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Roger E. Nell, District Public Defender, for the appellant, Bernard Thomas Nelson.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Leslie Price, Assistant Attorney General; John
Wesley Carney, Jr., District Attorney General; and Arthur F. Beiber, Assistant District Attorney
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WILLIAMS
On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict and the
denial of alternative sentencing. Following our review, we conclude that the evidence presented was
sufficient to support the jury’s verdicts and that the denial of alternative sentencing was justified
given the defendant’s lengthy history of criminal activity and the inability of probation to deter him
from such conduct. Therefore, we affirm the convictions and sentences.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/nelsonb012406.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIE J. SIMMONS
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Jeffery S. Burton, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellant, Willie J. Simmons.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General;
and William C. Whitesell, Jr., District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
The Defendant, Willie J. Simmons, was convicted of rape and sexual battery. The Defendant
received an effective eight year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant
argues that the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing. We affirm the judgment of the trial
court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/simmonsw012406.pdf
Application of Tenn. Code Ann. § 3-6-114 to Non-Registered Lobbyists
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-01-19
Opinion Number: 06-013
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-13.pdf
Validity of 1937 Private Act Regarding Marion County Teacher Tenure
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-01-20
Opinion Number: 06-016
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-16.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Legislative News
Online CLE
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| Legal News |
| Roane judge charged with extortion and money laundering |
| Roane County General Sessions Judge Thomas A. Austin has been indicted in federal court on allegations that he extorted $12,750 from two driving schools where he sent traffic offenders; extorted a laptop computer from a private firm contracted to handle offenders placed on probation; and engaged in money laundering. In open court, Austin also was accused of using illegal substances, according to a story in today's Knoxville News Sentinel. |
4410360,00.html
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| Court of the Judiciary suspends Judge Austin |
| In related news, the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary today suspended Judge Austin from all judicial duties so long as felony charges are pending against him or until the court determines otherwise. The 16-member Court of the Judiciary, created by the General Assembly, receives complaints against judges and is authorized by state law to impose a range of sanctions, including suspensions or removal from office when appropriate.
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| Judge seeks 'process' for TennCare children |
| U.S. District Judge John Nixon asked state officials to submit to him by Jan. 31 the process used to provide health care to children enrolled in TennCare. A similar order issued in December called on the state to submit its plan to a special master. The state did not comply and Nixon decided to suspend the special master’s activities. According to a report in the Tennessean, state officials agreed to turn over the requested documents. |
MTCN0301
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| Legislative News |
| Ethics proposal would put limits on lawyers after leaving office |
| Under an amendment added to the state ethics bill Monday, lawyers who have served in the legislature would be barred from representing clients before state regulatory boards for one year after leaving office, the Tennessean reports. |
NEWS02
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| Federal court calls senators to appear in Ford case |
| Three West Tennessee senators have been commanded to appear in federal court tomorrow morning and may be asked why they voted to unseat a colleague, newly elected Sen. Ophelia Ford of Memphis, the Tennessean reports. |
NEWS02
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| Online CLE |
| Disaster Recovery: Your Ethical Duty |
| Tornados, fires and hurricanes happen. This new TennBarU online course will help you prepare for and respond to a disaster with the purpose of improving your chance to successfully recover from it.
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