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Legislative update: Lien law wins committee support; Ethics Commission loses staff request
The TBA-backed bill that makes construction lien administration more clear and certain sailed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 9-0 vote today. The bill, SB2031/HB187, was drafted through a three-year effort by TBA members.
The Tennessee Ethics Commission saw its request for three additional staff to conduct audits and investigate complaints voted down by the Senate Finance Committee this morning and then met to address a number of other issues. During the five-hour meeting, the commission deferred access to records rules and guidelines; adopted an advisory opinion on the close personal gift exception; and reviewed reporting and audit requirements for employers of lobbyists. The commission continued its practice of deferring public comment until all decisions were made.
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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
02 - 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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SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS Grants & Denials List
Court: TSC
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2007/certlist031907.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE ex rel., ELIZABETH WRAY v. KELLY COLLINS
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Warren Jasper, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, TN, for Appellant, State of Tennessee ex rel., Elizabeth Wray
No Appearance for Appellee, Kelly Collins
Judge: HIGHERS
This appeal involves a series of cases -- a paternity action, a dependency and neglect proceeding, and the present case, a petition to establish paternity and set child support. The first paternity suit had been dismissed by the mother after genetic testing had taken place, but before the court entered an order of parentage. During subsequent dependency and neglect proceedings, a grandmother had
received temporary custody of the child. Finally, the State of Tennessee filed this case on the grandmother's behalf to establish paternity and collect child support from the child's biological father. The father insisted that he had never been properly served in the dependency and neglect
proceeding, so the trial court dismissed the State's petition. For the following reasons, we reverse and remand.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/wraye_032007.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LARRY BOYKIN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Keith E. Haas, Newport, Tennessee, for the appellant, Larry Boykin
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Jennifer Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; Al C. Schmutzer, Jr., District Attorney General; and James B. Dunn and Tracy L. Stone, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee
Judge: OGLE
The appellant, Larry Boykin, was convicted by a jury in the Cocke County Circuit Court of first degree murder, and he received a sentence of life imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant argues that the State failed to timely disclose exculpatory
information, the trial court erred in failing to suppress the appellant's statements to police due to a Miranda violation, the trial court erred in allowing evidence of a burglary to be introduced during the course of the murder trial, and the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction for
murder. Upon our review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2007/boykinl_032007.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. EDGAR WHITE, JR.
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
James E. Lanier, District Public Defender; Patrick R. McGill, Assistant District Public Defender, for the appellant, Edgar White, Jr.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Jennifer L. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; C. Phillip Bivens, District Attorney General; Lance E. Webb, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee
Judge: THOMAS
The defendant, Edgar White, Jr., was convicted of driving under the influence (first offense) (DUI) and simple possession of marijuana, both Class A misdemeanors, and was sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days in jail for each, suspended to thirty days, to be served concurrently. On appeal, the defendant challenges both the sufficiency of the evidence that formed the basis of his
convictions and the length of his sentence. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to sustain both convictions, and we affirm the convictions. We also affirm the sentence imposed by the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2007/whitej_032007.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Legislative News
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Fall out spreads from U.S. attorney firings |
| The U.S. Senate voted today to end the Justice Department's ability to fill U.S. attorney vacancies as the backlash to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' firing of eight federal prosecutors continued to grow. Also today, congressional leaders pored over thousands of pages of e-mails related to the firings; the White House agreed to let presidential adviser Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers talk to senators behind closed doors and off the record; and President Bush addressed the nation on the issue. Read the Associated Press recap on Law.com |
Or follow the story on CNN
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| If the Senate's bill wins approval from the House and President Bush, it could mean trouble for Nashville's current U.S. Attorney Craig Morford, who came into office as an interim appointee in October. |
Read more in the Nashville City Paper
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| Memphis utility chief admits to keeping power on for councilman |
| Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division CEO Joseph Lee told city officials today that he had personally instructed utility staff not to cut off Councilman Edmund Ford's delinquent accounts. But, Lee told the council, he did not receive any favors from Ford or other council members for his actions.
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Read the full story in the Commercial Appeal
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| Bredesen names panel to study succession |
| Gov. Phil Bredesen today created a panel to recommend changes to the state's rules for a temporary handoff of executive power. Tennessee has no provision to cover a governor's serious illness or disability. The panel will include Attorney General Bob Cooper; Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville; House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington; former Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr.; former Democratic Gov. Ned McWherter; Bredesen staffers Steven Elkins and Kim McMillan; and University of Tennessee law professor Glenn H. Reynolds.
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Read more on Chattanoogan.com
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| Disabled access in Legislative Plaza questioned |
| Seventeen years after the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, restrooms in the building where Tennessee lawmakers have their offices and hold committee meetings apparently do not accommodate wheelchairs. One disabled advocate says the state is lucky it has not been sued yet.
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Read more in the Chattanooga Times Free Press
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| TennCare advocate wants state to pay legal fees |
| The Tennessee Justice Center has filed a request in federal court seeking to collect $2.8 million in fees and expenses for its work on the Grier v. Goetz case, which altered the course of TennCare.
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The Nashville Business Journal reports
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| Law Examiners announces new board members |
| The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners has new officers for 2007. They are: President Ricky Edward Wilkins of Memphis, Vice President Jimmie Carpenter Miller of Kingsport, Secretary-Treasurer William Scott McGinness of Chattanooga and board member Marlene Eskind Moses of Nashville. |
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| Legislative News |
| Bill giving troopers immigration enforcement powers passes Senate |
| The Tennessee Senate voted yesterday to give the Tennessee Highway Patrol the authority to enforce federal immigration and customs laws. The legislation, SB1604, passed on a 30-0 vote. A companion bill was scheduled for a hearing in the House today, according to the Daily News Journal.
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Read about the bill
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| Wilder returns to Senate |
| Senator John Wilder, D-Mason, returned to the Senate on Monday after recuperating from a fall earlier this month. Colleagues greeted him with a standing ovation, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel.
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| Rep. McCormick speaks out on judicial issues |
| Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, said yesterday that he favors electing state Supreme Court justices, supports doing away with lifetime-tenure for judges and wants to remove from office judges who do not uphold the death penalty. His comments came in a speech to a Chattanooga area Republican group. |
Read more about his remarks on Chattanoogan.com
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| Stay current on legislation with TBA updates |
| The Tennessee General Assembly is tackling a number of bills of interest to Tennessee lawyers this session. Keep up with action on those bills with the TBA legislative Watch and Action lists. |
Check out TBA legislative updates
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| Republicans ask Williams to resign |
| A growing number of Republican officials in the 4th District are calling on Sen. Mike Williams, I-Maynardville, to resign since he changed his party affiliation from Republican to Independent. Williams has said he has no intention to do so. |
Chattanoogan.com has the story
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| TBA Member Services |
| Discounts from Office Depot |
| Are you saving yet? Sign up for the TBA-Office Depot Program and begin saving. TBA Members receive significant discounts on office supplies from Office Depot. |
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