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LSC funding to get one more shot: call your rep now
Lawyers in Tennessee and other states are being urged to contact their Congressional representatives and ask them to support restored funding to the Legal Services Corporation. The ABA reports that Tennessee will see more than $200,000 cut from its current budget if the bill passed out of the House Appropriations Committee last week is approved by the full House. That bill cuts fiscal year 2007 funding by $13 million nationwide to $313 million. As early as tomorrow, Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) plans to offer an amendment on the House floor to add $25 million in funding, restoring the LSC budget to where it was in 2003. Contact information is available at the ABA's Grassroots Advocacy Center:
http://www.capitolconnect.com/abacc/default.aspx
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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.
02 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
05 - TN Court of Appeals
01 - 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
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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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SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS
Grants & Denials List
Court: TSC
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/certlist062606.pdf
PAUL DENNIS REID, JR. v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., J., concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Court: TSC
Attorneys:
Michael J. Passino, Nashville, Tennessee; and Kelly A. Gleason and Nicholas D. Hare, Assistant Post-Conviction Defenders, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant, Paul Dennis Reid, Jr.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; Jennifer L. Smith, Associate Deputy Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; Tom Thurman, Deputy District Attorney General; and Roger Moore, Assistant District Attorney General, for Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Joseph D. Tydings, Washington D.C., and F. Clay Bailey, Nashville, TN, for Amicus Curiae, Counsel for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Judge: CORNELIA A. CLARK
We granted interlocutory review in this post-conviction capital case to clarify the procedure for determining competency to proceed in a post-conviction action. For the reasons explained herein, we hold that the civil standard for mental incompetence adopted in State v. Nix, 40 S.W.3d 459 (Tenn. 2001), applies to a competency determination during post-conviction proceedings. To trigger a hearing on competency, a petitioner must make a prima facie showing of incompetence by submission of affidavits, depositions, medical reports, or other credible evidence. A petitioner bears the burden of proving that he or she is incompetent by clear and convincing evidence. A finding of incompetence requires neither a stay of the post-conviction proceedings nor abeyance of individual issues. A trial court should appoint, if necessary, a “next friend” or guardian ad litem to pursue the action on behalf of the petitioner. Accordingly, the decision of the trial court is affirmed as modified, and the case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/reidpd062606.pdf
ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., J., concurring in part and dissenting in part.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/reidpdDISS.pdf
ENNIX HAIRSTON, ET AL. v. LILLIAN B. NEWSOM
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Ennix Hairston, Jackson, TN, pro se
John S. Little, Jackson, TN, for Appellee, Lillian B. Newsom
Kyle C. Atkins, Humboldt, TN, for Appellee, Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company as Uninsured Motorist Carrier
Judge: ALAN E. HIGHERS
This appeal stems from a negligence action resulting from an automobile accident. A husband and wife filed suit against the defendant alleging personal injury and property damage resulting from the defendant’s alleged negligence that caused the automobile accident involving the wife and the defendant. In addition to the wife’s claims, the husband brought claims against the defendant for loss of consortium and loss of services. Additionally, the wife’s uninsured motorist insurance carrier was served but unnamed. Both Newsom and the uninsured motorist insurance carrier filed Motions to Exclude All Medical Proof of Plaintiff and Motion for Summary Judgment. The circuit court granted the defendant’s and the unnamed but served uninsured motorist insurance carrier’s Motions to Exclude All Medical Proof of Plaintiff and Motion for Summary Judgment. The order adjudicated the wife’s personal injury claims only. On appeal, the plaintiffs assert that the circuit court erred when it granted the defendant’s and the unnamed but served uninsured motorist insurance carrier’s Motions to Exclude All Medical Proof of Plaintiff and Motion for Summary Judgment. However, because we find that the circuit court failed to execute a final order disposing of all of the plaintiffs’ causes of action, we dismiss the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to rule 3(a) of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/hairstone062606.pdf
IN RE LAMONT B., II
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Yvette Y. Cain, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Veronica W.
Jeffrey Spark, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Laurice B.
Robert M. Robinson, Nashville, Tennessee, Guardian ad litem, for Lamont B., II.
Judge: WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR.
This case concerns an initial custody determination of a four-year-old child. The child’s parents ended their relationship before he was born. The child’s mother was his sole caregiver during the first four months of his life, then the child’s parents shared parenting responsibilities equally for the next eighteen months. The father eventually filed a petition in the Davidson County Juvenile Court seeking to be designated as the child’s primary residential parent. Following a bench trial, the juvenile court designated the father to be the child’s primary residential parent after finding him to be comparatively more fit. The mother has appealed. We affirm the juvenile court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/lamontb062606.pdf
DONALD EUGENE MITCHELL v. ANTHONY KECK, KAREY KECK, AND CARL CARRUBA, JR.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
David T. Black, Maryville, Tennessee, for appellant.
Duncan V. Crawford, Maryville, Tennessee, for appellees.
Judge: HERSCHEL PICKENS FRANKS
Plaintiff asked the Court to declare right of way over defendants’ properties. The Trial Court refused. On appeal, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/mitchelld062606.pdf
TRACYE JENAE SIMPSON (BROGDEN), et al. v.
CHARLES D. SUSANO, JR., J., concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
John P. Konvalinka, Jim K. Petty, and Jillyn M. Pullara, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Appellant Ralph Edward Simpson.
Tracye Jenae Simpson (Brogden) and Sydney Jenae Simpson, pro se Appellees.
Judge: D. MICHAEL SWINEY
This appeal involves child support arrearages incurred by Ralph Edward Simpson (“Father”) over the course of many years. Following a trial, the Trial Court concluded that certain payments made directly to the child were gratuitous and should not count as a credit against Father’s child support obligation. The Trial Court also concluded that various payments made by Father to third parties for expenses incurred on the child’s behalf and which were made as expressly directed by Tracye Jenae Simpson (“Mother”) also should not count as credits against Father’s child support obligation. We affirm the Trial Court’s conclusion with respect to the money sent directly to the child. However, we conclude that the Trial Court erred in its conclusion that Father should not be given a credit for payments made to third parties for expenses related to the child and which were made by Father in accordance with the express directives of Mother. The judgment of the Trial Court is, therefore, affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/simpsont062606.pdf
CHARLES D. SUSANO, JR., J., concurring in part and dissenting in part.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/simpsontCON062606.pdf
SUNTRUST BANK v. SHEEP, INC., and MARILYN POWELL
Court: TCA
Judge: HERSCHEL PICKENS FRANKS
The Trial Court dismissed the case on the grounds the process issued more than one year after the issuance of the previous process was invalid. On appeal, we vacate.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/suntrustvsheep062606.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CALVIN WAYNE CARUTHERS,
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Joel H. Moseley, Sr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Calvin Wayne Caruthers.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Elizabeth B. Marney, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Pamela Anderson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR.
The appellant, Wheeler Bonding Company, Inc. (hereinafter “Wheeler”), appeals the order of the Davidson County Criminal Court requiring Wheeler to pay a portion of Defendant Calvin Wayne Caruthers’ bond premium to the criminal court clerk in satisfaction of the defendant’s restitution obligation from a 1992 theft conviction. The state concedes Wheeler’s claim, and we reverse and vacate the criminal court’s order.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/caruthersc062606.pdf
Rental License Ordinance
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-06-26
Opinion Number: 06-103
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-103.pdf
Confidentiality of records from reserve audit of governmental pool
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-06-26
Opinion Number: 06-104
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-104.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Passages
Election 2006
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| Legal News |
| Sobieski named interim UT law dean |
| The University of Tennessee College of Law said today it has named professor and associate dean John Sobieski Jr.as interim dean.
Sobieski will take over for Dean Thomas C. Galligan Jr. who is leaving Aug. 1 to become president of Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. Galligan had been UT's law dean since 1998. Read more about him in the |
Knoxville News Sentinel.
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| Tennessean agrees: Judges shouldn't have to answer questions |
| "As a state senator and a lawyer, David Fowler must know that the questionnaire he is sending to Tennessee's appellate judges is totally unfair," the Tennessean said in a weekend editorial.
"If those judges respond to the questions posed by a new group headed by Fowler, Family Action Council, they'll be violating the code of conduct that the Tennessee Bar Association developed for judges. If they do not respond to the questionnaire -- or even if they respond by saying the state's judicial canons don't permit them to answer such questions -- they'll be giving Fowler ammunition to say that they are trying to hide their views from the people of this state." Last week, the Chattanooga Times Free Press came out against Fowler's questionnaire, and now the Tennessean follows suit. |
Read the editorial.
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| Information on capital cases |
| Paul Dennis Reid and Sedley Alley are still scheduled to be executed by lethal injection within hours of each other on Wednesday, although motions from all directions are being filed. Today, Alley's defense team filed for a stay of execution again asking that DNA testing be done on evidence taken from the crime scene in 1985.
Read the motions and orders and keep track of other developments in these and other Tennessee capital cases on a web site set up by the Administrative Office of the Courts. |
Check here for the latest filings
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| Child rape defendant tries to fire lawyer |
| Bizarre behavior by Dennis G. Coldiron Friday morning delayed his child rape trial for over two hours and led to his $25,000 bond being revoked. He'll now have to stay in jail at least until the jury reaches a verdict.
Coldiron, 50, called defense attorney David Boyd Friday morning to say he was fired. Boyd told him he is court appointed and Coldiron could not fire him. Read more in |
The Maryville Daily Times.
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| Knox County judge at center of charter controversy |
| Three weeks after a chancery court ruling invalidating the Knox County charter, the fallout continues in many areas. The latest person affected by the ruling is General Sessions Judge Jimmy Kyle Davis, who was appointed to the bench by the county commission using the rules of the charter. Read the details from |
WATE-6.
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| Man says he's on heroin to avoid jury duty |
| A man made a mockery of the justice system when he tried to get removed from a jury pool in a death penalty case by claiming he is a heroin addict and a killer, a judge said. Read what great lengths a person will go to to avoid jury duty at
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Tri-Cities.com
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| Evidence questioned in landmark Ware case |
| The attorney for a man convicted in 1996 of raping and killing a 4-year-old girl is attacking the reliability of scientific evidence used in the United States for the first time during the trial of Paul William Ware in Chattanooga.
During the trial, prosecutors said mitochondrial DNA evidence linked Ware, 36, directly to the crime. The handling and testing of mitochondrial DNA were evolving at the time, and Ware’s trial was the first time such evidence was presented in a criminal case, Chattanooga lawyer Gerald Tidwell said. Read more in the |
Chattanooga Times Free Press.
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| Passages |
| Knoxville lawyer David G. Brown dies |
| David G. Brown, longtime head of the Brown, Brown and West real estate firm, died Friday following a short illness. He was 80. He graduated from Washington & Lee University with his law degree and was licensed to practice law in 1948. |
Read the obituary.
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| Election 2006 |
| Molester case is chief issue in judge race |
| A decision allowing a father convicted of child molestation in 1992 to have unsupervised visitation with his 7-year-old son has become an issue in an election for judge of Circuit Court, Division I in the state's 21st Judicial District, the Tennessean reports. |
Read the story.
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