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Supreme Court to consider Knox County election issue
The Supreme Court announced today that it would consider whether its decision in the Shelby County term limits case applies to elections in Knox County. The motion for consideration was brought by former Knox County Commissioner Bee DeSelm who is seeking to oust Sheriff Tim Hutchison on the grounds that term limits apply not only to Knox county commissioners but to other office holders as well. The court will meet in Jackson tomorrow to consider the case in closed session.
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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 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.
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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
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00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
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Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
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IVY JOE CLARK, ET AL. v. JOYCE ANN SHOAF, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Andrew H. Owens, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance
Companies.
Marvin A. Bienvenu, Jr., Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi, PLC, Memphis, Tennessee, for
the Appellees, Ivy Joe Clark and Vicky Clark.
Judge: FARMER
Husband sued for personal injury damages and Wife claimed damages for loss of consortium.
The jury awarded Wife damages in an amount greater than damages awarded to Husband for the
underlying personal injury claim. Appellant asserts the award to Wife is inconsistent and
unsupportable as a matter of law. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/clarki040406.pdf
DANIEL GORDON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Paul K. Guibao, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Daniel Gordon.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Leslie Price, Assistant Attorney General; William
L. Gibbons, District Attorney General, and Glen Baity, Assistant District Attorney General, for the
appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: SMITH
The petitioner pled guilty in the Shelby County Criminal Court to one count of rape of a child on
May 1, 2002. On October 7, 2002, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief asserting
that he was afforded ineffective assistance of counsel at his guilty plea. Following a hearing, the
post-conviction court denied the petition on May 19, 2005. The petitioner appeals to this Court.
After a review of the record, we affirm the decision of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/gordond040406.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CAREY B. HAYNES, JR.
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Charles M. Agee, Jr., Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Carey B. Hayes, Jr.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Preston Shipp, Assistant Attorney General; and
Phillip Bivens, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: SMITH
The appellant, Carey Haynes, Jr., was indicted by the Dyer County Grand Jury for one count of
selling less than .5 grams of cocaine and one count of selling more than .5 grams of cocaine. After
a jury trial, the appellant was convicted on both counts. The trial court sentenced the appellant to
six years for the conviction for the sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine and twelve years for the
conviction for the sale of more than .5 grams of cocaine. The trial court ordered the sentences to run
concurrently to each other, but consecutively to several sentences for which the appellant was on
probation at the time he committed the present offenses. After the denial of a motion for new trial,
the appellant sought an appeal, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. For
the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/haynesc040406.pdf
MARCUS NIXON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Marcus Nixon, Pro Se, Tiptonville, Tennessee.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Preston Shipp, Assistant Attorney General;
Elizabeth Rice, District Attorney General; and Tracey A. Brewer, Assistant District Attorney
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: SMITH
The petitioner, Marcus Nixon, was convicted in Lauderdale County of rape of a child and sentenced
to serve twenty-one years in the Department of Correction. His conviction was affirmed on direct
appeal. The petitioner filed a petition seeking a DNA analysis. The trial court initially granted an
order requiring the petitioner to submit a blood sample to be compared to DNA collected at the
scene. After a response from the State, the trial court entered a second order requiring the petitioner
to provide a biological specimen for inclusion in the DNA database compiled by the State, but
denying the petitioner's request for DNA analysis because no "exculpatory results" would come from
the analysis. The petitioner then sought a writ of mandamus requiring the State to comply with the
trial court's second order, and also filed a motion seeking permission to file an interlocutory appeal
to appeal the trial court's denial of his petition requesting DNA analysis. The petitioner filed a
timely notice of appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/nixonm040406.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JERRY WARD and ROSANNE K. WARD
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Terry J. Leonard, Camden, Tennessee, for appellants, Jerry Ward and Rosanne K. Ward.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Seth P. Kestner, Assistant Attorney General;
Robert Radford, District Attorney General; and Beth Boswell, Assistant District Attorney General,
for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: SMITH
The Benton County Grand Jury indicted the defendants, Jerry and Roseanne K. Ward, for crimes
against revenue officers and tampering with governmental records. The defendants and the District
Attorney General agreed to pretrial diversion. When the trial court refused to approve the agreement
for pretrial diversion, the defendants filed an application for an appeal pursuant to Rule 9 of the
Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. We have reviewed the record and conclude that the trial
court erred in withholding its approval of the pretrial diversion agreement. Therefore, we reverse
the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/wardj040406.pdf
WELISTER L. WHITE v. DAVID MILLS, WARDEN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Welister L. White, Pro Se, Henning, Tennessee.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; David H. Findley, Assistant Attorney General;
and Elizabeth Rice, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: SMITH
The petitioner, Welister L. White, pled guilty to one count of felony murder in 1979 in exchange for
a sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. In August of 2005, the petitioner
sought habeas corpus relief on the basis that his sentence was illegal given the holding in Blakely
v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004). The trial court dismissed the petition, and this appeal followed.
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 for affirmance
pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial
court is affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/whitew040406.pdf
Constitutionality of HB 2842
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-04-03
Opinion Number: 06-058
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-58.pdf
County Assessor's and Board of Equalization's Powers to Compel Witnesses
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-04-03
Opinion Number: 06-059
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-59.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
BPR Actions
TBA Member Services
TennBarU CLE Programs
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| Legal News |
| Process announced to fill 2nd Judicial District vacancy |
| Chancellor Richard Ladd of the 2nd Judicial District has announced his retirement effective June 30. Those interested in applying for appointment to the seat must submit an applicant questionnaire to the Administrative Office of the Courts no later than May 1. The applicant chosen to complete the term will serve from July 1 to Aug. 31. An application and additional details are available on the |
court's website
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| Disaster assistance news |
| The United Way has established temporary shelters in Dyer, Gibson and Weakley/Obion counties to help victims of Sunday's tornado and severe weather. Governor Bredeson has asked President Bush to designate Dyer and Gibson counties as federal disaster areas, and state Sen. Roy Herron and Rep. Mark Maddox today asked the governor to also petition for the federal designation in Weakley County. |
To help or learn more
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| DUI Commission named |
| The commission established by Governor Bredeson to review existing DUI laws and recommend changes met for the first time last week in Nashville. The group will meet again April 21 and twice monthly thereafter. It will present findings and recommendations to the governor by Oct. 2. Mike Walker with the Tennessee Department of Safety chairs the commission. Other members include: Representative Joe Fowlkes; Attorney General Paul Summers; Janice Pilot, Memphis deputy chief of police; Sullivan County General Sessions Judge Kline Lauderback; 19th Judicial District Attorney General John Carney; Montgomery County Sheriff Norman Lewis; Becky Boone from Mothers Against Drunk Driving; 20th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier; defense attorney Steve Oberman; and 20th Judicial District Public Defender Gary Antrican. |
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| Cameras in federal court? |
| Last week, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved two bills paving the way for televised proceedings in all federal courts, including the Supreme Court. The first bill (S. 829) gives district and appellate court judges the option of allowing proceedings to be televised. Under current rules, only appellate judges have that authority. The second bill (S. 1768) requires the Supreme Court to allow television coverage of its public sessions unless a majority of justices agree that coverage would violate due process rights. The bills now go before the full Senate. |
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| BPR Actions |
| Attorney reinstated following administrative suspension |
| The Tennessee law license of Amanda Payne Strange of Southhaven, Miss. has been reinstated. To view a list of all attorneys suspended and reinstated for failing to pay annual registration fees |
click here
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| TBA Member Services |
| Register online now for 125th Annual TBA Convention |
| Join your colleagues from the Tennessee legal community at the state's largest and longest running gathering: the annual Tennessee Bar Association convention. This year's event will be in Memphis, June 14-17 at the Peabody Hotel. The event will again be held in conjunction with gatherings of the Tennessee Judicial Conference, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and the Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women. |
Register or find out more now
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| TennBarU CLE Programs |
| Learn cutting edge issues in labor law at TennBarU forum |
| Join distinguished and highly qualified faculty from across the state as they guide you through a cross-section of the most recent decisions and cutting edge issues in the Labor and Employment Law arena. -- April 20 at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville. 6 general and 1 dual credit. |
Register or learn more
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