 |
| Wednesday, June 16, 2010 |
|
| |
| |
General Practice Summit adds Knoxville date
The Tennessee Bar Association's annual General Practice Summit will expand to a second city this summer, with sessions planned for August in both Nashville and Knoxville. Both will provide experts in a number practice areas, who will bring you up to date on the latest developments in the law, offer tips, advise you on trends and provide materials and forms. While the Nashville program will provide 15 hours of CLE instruction over a three-day period, the FAST TRACK Knoxville program will provide 15 hours of instruction through a one-day live program combined with access to eight hours of online programming.
Learn more about both programs now
|
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 or to obtain a text version of each opinion, 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 the TBA's Membership Central.
00 - 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
You can obtain full-text versions of the opinions two ways. We recommend that you download the Opinions to your computer and then
open them from there. 1) 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. 2) 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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
DR. WILLIAM P. HARMAN v. THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Randall D. Larramore, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Dr. William P. Harman.
Brian A. Lapps, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, The University of Tennessee.
Judge: KIRBY
This appeal involves the Tennessee Public Protection Act. The plaintiff professor was a department head at the defendant university. As the department head, the plaintiff evaluated a subordinate professor. The dean of the university instructed the plaintiff to remove negative information from the evaluation; the plaintiff refused. The plaintiff was then removed from his position as department head. He continued at the university as a tenured
professor. The plaintiff sued the university asserting a claim under the Public Protection Act, alleging that he was discharged or terminated for refusing to participate in or remain silent about illegal activities. The trial court granted the university's motion for judgment on the pleadings on the basis, inter alia, that the plaintiff was neither terminated nor discharged. The plaintiff now appeals. We affirm, concluding that the removal of the plaintiff from his
position as department head, when he remained employed as a professor, is not a termination or discharge under the Public Protection Act.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2010/harmanw_061610.pdf
LARRY MCKAY v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Gerald Skahan, Memphis, Tennessee, Patrick Frogge, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Larry McKay.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; Mark E. Davidson, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and John Campbell, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
In 1981 a Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Larry McKay, and his co-defendant, Michael Sample, of two counts of felony murder and imposed upon both men a sentence of
death. On direct appeal, the Petitioner's convictions and sentence were affirmed. State v. McKay, 680 S.W.2d 447 (Tenn. 1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1034 (1985). The Petitioner filed multiple post-conviction petitions, one of which was filed in 1995 and is the subject of this appeal. In that petition, the Petitioner contended that the prosecution violated his right to due process and a fair trial by suppressing exculpatory evidence against him. The post-
conviction court dismissed the petition, and, after a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/mckayl_061610.pdf
MICHAEL EUGENE SAMPLE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
David M. Eldridge and Loretta G. Cravens, Knoxville, Tennessee, Michael E. Scholl, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Michael Eugene Sample.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; Mark E. Davidson, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and John Campbell, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
In 1981 a Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Michael Eugene Sample, and his co- defendant, Larry McKay, of two counts of felony murder and imposed upon both men a sentence of death. On direct appeal, the Petitioner's convictions and sentence were affirmed. State v. McKay and Sample, 680 S.W.2d 447 (Tenn. 1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1034 (1985). The Petitioner filed multiple post-conviction petitions, one of which was filed in 1995 and is the subject of this appeal. In that petition, the Petitioner contended that: (1) the State violated his right to due process and a fair trial by suppressing exculpatory evidence against him; (2) the State knowingly presented false testimony; and (3) his sentence of death violates Apprendi because the jury imposed the sentence based upon aggravating circumstances that were not contained in the indictment, presented to the grand jury, or proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The post-conviction court dismissed the
petition, and, after a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/samplem_061610.pdf
|
|
 |
|
| TODAY'S NEWS |
|
Passages
Legal News
Court of the Judiciary
Politics
Upcoming
Flood Impact
TBA Member Services
|
| Passages |
| Funeral arrangements set for Jac Chambliss |
| Lawyers wishing to pay respects to the family of Chattanooga lawyer John A. "Jac" Chambliss will have two opportunities next month. On July 15, the family will receive visitors from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Wann Funeral Home (St. Elmo). The following day, July 16, visitation and a memorial service will be held at The Church of The Good Shepherd in Lookout Mountain. Visitation on that day will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m. with the service immediately following. Chambliss, a founding member of the law firm Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, died June 8 at the age of 99.
|
|
| Legal News |
| CASA of Memphis to pilot foster care transition program |
| CASA of Memphis & Shelby County recently was awarded a grant of $75,000 to test a new program designed to help youth make a successful transition from foster care to independent adulthood. It will be one of 16 agencies in the nation conducting a pilot of Fostering Futures, which will use CASA volunteers as advocates for and advisors to foster youth ages 13 to 21. The focus of their work will be to help the young people design transition plans.
|
Download the media release for more information
|
| State recidivism rates decline |
| Knoxville News Sentinel blogger Tom Humphrey reports on a press release from the Tennessee Department of Correction that shows some encouraging news on recidivism rates in the state. According to the department, the return rate for ex-felons dropped three percent since the last survey in 2001. That translates into an annual savings of $3.9 million. The department concludes that rehabilitation efforts, which include evidence-based programming, are working and should be continued.
|
Read the story
|
| Court of the Judiciary |
| Suspension order filed in Judge Bell case |
Though the Court of Judiciary announced the suspension of Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell on June 4, the court has now released the official order setting out findings of fact and conclusions of law. Pursuant to the court's ruling, Bell must spend 90 days on suspension beginning Aug. 1; complete 24 hours of judicial ethics training in 2010, 12 hours in 2011 and six hours in 2012; and pay the costs of his trial. The court also directed Bell to render decisions within 30 days of hearing dates and notify the court if he fails to do so.
Download the order
|
Read all filings in the case
|
| Politics |
| McCormick announces intent to seek speakership |
| State Representative and Assistant Republican Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, says he intends to run next year for Speaker of the House if Republicans maintain the majority. He likely will face opposition, both from inside and outside his party. House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, R-Franklin, has said he intends to run, while current speaker Kent Williams, R-Elizabethton, hopes to maintain the post if margins remain close and former speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, intends to run if Democrats take control.
|
The Times Free Press reports
|
| Cope to lead Haslam's Rutherford County campaign |
| Murfreesboro lawyer Evan Cope has been tapped to lead Republican gubernatorial candidate and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam's Rutherford County organizing committee. Cope has been active in the TBA as a board member of the Young Lawyers Division, graduate of the Leadership Law program and member of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee. He practices law with Cope, Hudson, Reed & McCreary PLLC.
|
The Daily News Journal announced the appointment
|
| Upcoming |
| Free legal clinic for veterans |
| Veterans needing legal assistance should check out Project Salute in Jellico this weekend, June 18-19. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the University of Detroit Law School will be hosting one of its free legal clinics. Veterans can get help with federal benefits, disability, pension and legal consultation. The event will be held in the City of Jellico Office of Tourism, 104 N. Main St., Jellico, TN 37762, (423) 784-3275. Veterans should bring their DD Form 214, recent ratings decisions and any other pertinent documentation.
|
Learn more about the program
|
| Flood Impact |
| Application deadline for FEMA benefits is July 6 |
| July 6 is the deadline for Tennessee residents to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for assistance in dealing with damage from severe storms and flooding. Individuals may register online or by calling (800) 621-FEMA (3362) or (800) 462-7585 for the hearing impaired. Those with questions about federal benefits should call the FEMA Helpline or visit a Disaster Recovery Center. Find a center here. Those facing legal questions can call (800) 395-9297 for free legal assistance. FEMA reports that over 62,000 Tennesseans have registered for benefits and more than $200 million in disaster grants and low-interest loans has been approved for residents of the state.
|
Learn more about the disaster designation in Tennessee
|
| 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. |
Find out more
|
| |
|
| |
Discontinue your TBA Today subscription? ... Surely not!
But if you must, visit the TBALink web site at:
http://www.tba2.org/tbatoday/unsub_tbatoday.php
Questions, comments: Email us at TBAToday@tnbar.org
About this publication: Today's News is a compilation of digests of news reports of interest to Tennessee lawyers compiled by TBA staff, links to digested press releases, and occasional stories about the TBA and other activities written by the TBA staff or members. Statements or opinions herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Tennessee Bar Association, its officers, board or staff.
© Copyright 2010 Tennessee Bar Association
|
|
|
