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Meet the attorney general
Read this in-depth story at the Chattanoogan.com about the state's new attorney general, Bob Cooper. Find out about his life in high school, as a newspaper reporter, and that he is the nice guy he appears to be.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_96569.asp
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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
00 - TN Court of Appeals
07 - 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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SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS
Court: TSC
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/certlist_111306.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JASON GOOLSBY
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
E.J. Mackie, Cookeville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jason Goolsby
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Leslie Price, Assistant Attorney General; William E. Gibson, District Attorney General; and Anthony J. Craighead, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
The defendant, Jason Goolsby, was convicted of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony, and burglary and two counts of theft over $1000, Class D felonies. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to concurrent terms of four years and six months for the aggravated burglary conviction and three years and six months for each of the Class D felonies, with nine months to be served in confinement and the balance on probation. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in instructing the jury. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/goolsbyJ_111306.pdf
JORGE HERRERA v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Nathan Moore, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jorge Herrera
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Preston Shipp, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Bret Thomas Gunn, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: GLENN
The petitioner, Jorge Herrera, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel and that his guilty pleas were unknowing and involuntary. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/herreraj_111306.pdf
ELLIOTT McCASTER v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert C. Richardson, Jr., Columbia, Tennessee, for the petitioner, Elliott McCaster
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; C. Daniel Lins, Assistant Attorney General; Mike Bottoms, District Attorney General; and Christi Thompson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee
Judge: MCLIN
The petitioner, Elliott McCaster, pled guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a range two sentence of thirty-two years. The petitioner now appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his request for post-conviction relief and contends that (1) he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and (2) his guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/mccastere_111306.pdf
DUANE E. NOLAND v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Duane E. Noland, Whiteville, Tennessee, pro se, for the appellant
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Jennifer L. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. (Torry) Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Pamela Sue Anderson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WOODALL
Petitioner, Duane E. Noland, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, for this Court to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion. We grant the motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/nolandd_111306.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DAVID DARNELL NORMAN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Dwight E. Scott, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, David Darnell Norman.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Preston Shipp, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Deborah Housel, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: MCLIN
The defendant, David Darnell Norman, was convicted of domestic assault, false imprisonment, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, and possession of drug paraphernalia. For his convictions, he received a total effective sentence of two years. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Following our review of the parties’ briefs and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/normand_111306.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MELVIN WOODROW SANDIDGE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Richard D. Dumas, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Melvin Woodrow Sandidge.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Bret Gunn, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: DANIELS
The appellant, Melvin Woodrow Sandidge, pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to five counts of theft of property valued between $1,000 and $10,000 and one count of theft of property valued between $500 and $1,000. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the appellant received a total effective sentence of sixteen years. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court’s denial of alternative sentencing, specifically community corrections. After reviewing the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/sandidgem_111306.pdf
JOHN W. SMITH v. WAYNE BRANDON, WARDEN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
John W. Smith, Only, Tennessee, pro se, for the appellant
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Assistant Attorney General; and Ronald L. Davis, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WOODALL
Petitioner, John W. Smith, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, for this Court to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion. After a thorough review of the record, we grant the motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/smithj_111306.pdf
Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs -- Individual and Organizational Recognition Criteria
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-10-17
Opinion Number: 06-165
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-165.pdf
Knoxville Journal as "newspaper" and/or "newspaper of general circulation"
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-11-09
Opinion Number: 06-166
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-166.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Newspaper calls creation of new judicial post 'blatantly partisan' |
| The Commercial Appeal calls the Shelby County Commission's decision to create a second Juvenile Court judgeship "a blatantly partisan attempt to circumvent the will of the voters" and urges Veronica Coleman to withdraw her name from consideration for the interim appointment and "distance herself from this political parlor game." |
Read the editorial.
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| McCormick retrial in '85 murder case postponed again |
| The trial of Michael Lee McCormick -- who has already spent 16 years on death row -- has been postponed again. A jury in 1987 convicted him and sentenced him to death for the murder of a 23-year-old pharmacist. But he was awarded a new trial 10 years later based on ineffective assistance of counsel. |
Read it at the Chattanoogan Times Free Press online
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| A new slammer for Shelby? |
| The Commercial Appeal calls for a comprehensive study of Shelby County's correctional facilities before any decisions are made on Sheriff Mark Luttrell's ideas for a new, money-saving facility. Before a new one can be considered, the paper says, there needs to be a plan for the old building that was once called the "Glamor Slammer." |
Read the editorial.
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| Madison County lawyer has new book out |
| Howard Books, a Christian division of Simon & Schuster, released a novel by Madison County lawyer Jerome Teel in September. Teel calls the book a "legal thriller with an element of spiritual redemption." The story surrounds a Jackson attorney, married with three kids who finds himself in the middle of a murder case and a political and global business cover-up involving the presidency of the United States. |
Find out more about
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| Case stirs debate over executing mentally ill |
| On Tuesday, when North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley hears arguments about whether to spare convicted murderer Guy LeGrande's life, the governor will step into the middle of a percolating national debate about whether it is appropriate to execute those with severe mental illness, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
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The Commercial Appeal has the story
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| Judges cite lack of security, space in transfer requests |
| Some General Sessions judges in Knox County will petition a committee of county commissioners tonight in hopes of getting more space -- more secure and closer to juvenile lockup facilities -- for their courtrooms and offices. |
The News Sentinel has the story
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| Dismissed case a 'mystery' |
| A Hamilton County General Sessions judge can't recall why he dismissed a case but says "For some reason someone convinced me it was in the interest of justice to dismiss it. I'm sure at the time I thought it was the right thing to do." Now the assistant district attorney is questioning the dismissal of the case and what he calls the "mystery" surrounding it. |
Read about it at the Times Free Press Online
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| TBA Member Services |
| Student loans at low rates through SunTrust |
| The TBA and SunTrust Bank now have a Partnership Program to help alleviate the burden of student loans. Members and their families can consolidate their federal student loans at a special low fixed rate - right now as low as 5.375%. In addition, those with consolidation loans greater than $10,000 are eligible to reduce their interest rate by another 1.5% for on-time payments and automatic debit payments.
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Learn more
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