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Youth court volunteers spend day at capitol
About 40 youth and adult volunteers today took part in the second annual Youth Court Day on the Hill in Nashville. Those attending observed committee meetings, met with their legislators and toured the state capitol. Members of the Wilson County and Jackson/Madison County Teen
Courts also worked on forming a youth advisory board for the Tennessee Youth Court Program. Youth courts, also known as teen courts or peer courts, allow teens to adjudicate their peers in a courtroom setting.
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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
02 - TN Court of Appeals
03 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
01 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
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All methods require a TBA username and password. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password,
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Here's how you can obtain full-text version. We recommend you download the Opinions to your computer and then
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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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CITY OF MEMPHIS v. THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MEMPHIS, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Leigh H. Thomas and Thomas E. Hansom, for the appellants, Mauricio Hearns, Henry Gray, Jr., Dorian Branch and Derick Jones
Sara L. Hall, City Attorney, and Gerald L. Thornton, Senior Assistant City Attorney, for the appellee, City of Memphis
Judge: FARMER
This administrative appeal arises out of the termination of Officers Mauricio Hearns's (Officer Hearns), Henry Gray, Jr.'s (Officer Gray), Dorian Branch's (Officer Branch), and Derick Jones's (Officer Jones) (collectively "the officers") employment with the City of Memphis Police Department (the Department) following their purchases of stolen Samsung televisions and digital video disc (DVD) players for their personal use. The Department terminated the officers' employment after finding a violation of DR-104 Personal Conduct. The Civil Service Commission of the City of Memphis (the Commission) ruled that the termination was unreasonable disciplinary action and reversed the City's decision. The City appealed to Shelby County Chancery Court, where the chancellor reversed the Commission's decision, finding it to be arbitrary and capricious. We hold that the Commission's decision was unsupported by substantial and material evidence and therefore arbitrary. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/hearnsm_040407.pdf
MOODY REALTY COMPANY, INC. v. RONALD L. HUESTIS, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Jeffery T. Washburn, Dresden, Tennessee, for the appellants, Ronald L. Huestis and Lisa M. Huestis
William R. Neese, Dresden, Tennessee, for the appellee, Moody Realty Company, Inc.
Judge: FARMER
This is a breach of contract action for the recovery of a real estate brokerage commission. The trial court found that the parties did not enter into a binding buyer's representation agreement because there was no meeting of the minds. Instead, the court awarded the plaintiff real estate broker damages in quantum meruit. On appeal, we find that the parties mutually assented to the terms of
the buyer's representation agreement and that the broker was entitled to its commission as stated in the contract. We vacate the award of damages in quantum meruit, affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for entry of judgment in accordance with the contract.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/moodyrealty_040407.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MARVIN HUGGHIS
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Marvin Hugghis, pro se
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General & Reporter; Michael Moore, Solicitor General; Elizabeth Bingham Marney, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Michele Parks, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee
Judge: HAYES
The Petitioner, Marvin Hugghis, appeals the lower court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner has failed to allege any ground that would render the judgment of conviction void. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's dismissal.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2007/hugghism_040407.pdf
TORRENCE JOHNSON v. STEPHEN DOTSON, WARDEN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Torrence Johnson, pro se
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General & Reporter; Rachel E. Willis, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee
Judge: MCLIN
The Petitioner, Torrence Johnson, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Because Petitioner has failed to allege a ground for relief which would render the judgment void, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2007/johnsont_040407.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DUANE LEE RUGGLES
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Curtis F. Hopper, Savannah, Tennessee, for the appellant, Duane Lee Ruggles
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; J. Ross Dyer, Assistant Attorney General; Robert G. Radford, District Attorney General; and John W. Overton, Jr., Chief Deputy District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee
Judge: WILLIAMS
Pursuant to a plea agreement, the defendant, Duane Lee Ruggles, pled guilty to aggravated assault and received an agreed-upon sentence of eight years as a Range II offender. The defendant appeals from the trial court's denial of an alternative sentence. Because the guilty plea transcript is not contained in this record, we presume the sentence imposed was correct. We affirm the judgment of
the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2007/rugglesd_040407.pdf
Largest Chamber of Commerce under the Growth Law
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2007-04-03
Opinion Number: 07-41
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2007/ag_07-41.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Politics
Passages
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Litigator expresses concerns about lethal injection review |
| On Feb. 1, Governor Bredesen issued an executive order calling on the Tennessee Department of Corrections to develop a new lethal injection protocol by May 2. In today's Tennessean, Michael Passino, a private practice attorney in Nashville and death penalty litigator, argues that the state review has two problems: a 90-day moratorium is not enough time to complete a thorough analysis and department proceedings have not been open to the public. |
Read his opinion piece
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| Department of Corrections to hold public hearing on issue |
| In related news, the Tennessee Department of Corrections will hold a public hearing tomorrow, April 5, on the future use of lethal injection in the state. The hearing will take place from 3-6 p.m. in the Multimedia Room of the William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower in Nashville. |
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| FBI video of Ford at issue |
Attorneys for former state senator John Ford were before U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen today to ask that he block prosecutors from playing "duplicative video and audio" shot by undercover FBI agents. The tapes in question, which show Ford allegedly taking illicit cash, were shot from different angles. The defense argues that showing multiple versions of the same recording will prejudice the jury. The Commercial Appeal has more on the video issue.
Portions of the tapes were played in court today. Read about what they showed in this report from |
the Commercial Appeal
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| Analysis under way on justice center feasibility |
| Anderson County Commissioner John Alley is chairing a new committee to lay the groundwork for a justice center needs assessment. Arguing that the county's judicial system "is almost at a crisis stage," Alley plans to start soliciting input from interested parties at the committee's next meeting in May. The News Sentinel reports on the state of county's judicial system in an article today. |
Learn more
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| Justice Dept. files suit against tax prep offices |
| The U.S. Justice Department said yesterday it is trying to shut down more than 125 Jackson Hewitt tax preparation stores in four states (Georgia, Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina) for what it called "systematic tax-fraud schemes." Jackson Hewitt is the nation's second largest tax preparer, but offices are owned by individual franchisers. The locations in question appear to all be owned by the same individual. |
The News Sentinel has the story
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| TBA VP Lewis at Bar Leader Institute |
| TBA Vice President George T. "Buck" Lewis recently joined other emerging bar leaders at the American Bar Association's Bar Leader Institute in Chicago. Lewis met with ABA President Karen J. Mathis of Denver and ABA President-elect William H. Neukom of Seattle, and took part in sessions on bar governance, finance, communications and planning. Also attending from Tennessee were Knoxville Bar Association President-elect Adrienne L. Anderson and Nashville Bar Association President-elect W. Scott Sims. |
Read more
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| Politics |
| Alexander to run for re-election |
| U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander was in his hometown of Maryville yesterday to say he would seek re-election in 2008. His announcement came in comments to a breakfast meeting with local officials. The timing surprised some; just a few months ago, Alexander considered retiring after losing a bid to become Senate Republican whip.
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The News Sentinel looks at Alexander's first term in the Senate
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| Passages |
| Judge Bradberry dies at 94 |
| Judge Homer Wesley Bradberry, 94, of Dresden, died yesterday at his home. Funeral services were held today at the Bowlin Funeral Home Chapel with Dresden lawyer Max Speight and pastor Jim Calhoun officiating. Bradberry was an attorney and former chancellor. He graduated from the Cumberland School of Law in 1939. |
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| TBA Member Services |
| New Alimony Bench Book released |
| The 5th Edition of the Alimony Bench Book is now available from the TBA Family Law Section. This newest edition is available for purchase at the TBA's online bookstore or by calling 800-899-6993 or in Nashville at 383-7421 |
Order online now
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