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Clark to be sworn in as chief justice Sept. 1
Justice Cornelia A. Clark will become the second
woman in the state's history to serve as chief justice of the Tennessee
Supreme Court when she is sworn into office at 10 a.m. on Sept. 1 at the
historic courthouse in Franklin. Chief Justice Janice Holder will administer the oath of office to Clark,
who was elected by the court to serve a two-year term as chief justice.
Learn more from the AOC
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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 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.
01 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
01 - TN Court of Appeals
04 - 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
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SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS Grants & Denials List
Court: TSC
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2010/certlist_080910
STATE EX REL. YVETTE MARTIN v. LAKISHA LYNCH
CORRECTION on page 1 lists appellant as Lakisha Lynch instead of Yvette Martin
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Cynthia Elease Greene, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Lakisha Lynch.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter, and Warren Jasper, Senior Counsel, for the appellee, State of Tennessee, ex rel. Yvette Martin.
Judge: CLEMENT
The mother of a minor child appeals her conviction of eighteen counts of criminal contempt for willful failure to pay child support. She contends the evidence was insufficient to sustain
the convictions for criminal contempt. We agree and reverse the finding of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2010/martiny_CORR_080910.pdf
DARRELL W. LUNSFORD v. HOWARD CARLTON, WARDEN
With Dissenting Opinion
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Darrell W. Lunsford, Pikeville, Tennessee, Pro se.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; and Rachel West Harmon, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: OGLE
The Petitioner, Darrell W. Lunsford, appeals the dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, in which he alleged that his sentence was illegal. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/lunsfordd_080910.pdf
TIPTON dissenting
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/lunsfordd_DISS_080910.pdf
WILLIAM EARL ROBINSON A.K.A. EDWARD BAXTER v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Jeremy W. Parham, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, William Earl Robinson a.k.a. Edward Baxter.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. (Torry) Johnson, III, District Attorney General; and Bret Gunn, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WILLIAMS
The petitioner, William Earl Robinson, a.k.a. Edward Baxter, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner pled guilty to rape, a Class B felony, and was sentenced to eight years, which was suspended to probation upon acceptance of
the plea. After his probationary sentence was revoked, the petitioner filed a post-conviction petition, alleging that his plea was entered unknowingly and involuntarily based upon the ineffective assistance of counsel. On appeal, he specifically contends that trial counsel was ineffective by
failing to properly advise the petitioner of his potential range of punishment for the charged offenses prior to his acceptance of the plea. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/robinsonw_080910.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. GUY HENRY WHITE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
J. Liddell Kirk, Knoxville, Tennessee (on appeal); and Mack Garner, District Public Defender (at trial), for the appellant, Guy Henry White.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Leslie E. Price, Assistant Attorney General; Mike Flynn, District Attorney General; and Tammy Harrington, Assistant District
Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
The defendant, Guy Henry White, entered into an open guilty plea to one count of theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000. See T.C.A. section 40-3-103 (2006). The trial court sentenced him to five years to be served as 90 days' incarceration with the remainder on supervised probation. The defendant appeals from the trial court's denial of judicial diversion and its imposition of a five-year sentence. Discerning no error, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/whiteg_080910.pdf
JOSEPH R. WIGGINS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Joseph R. Wiggins, Tiptonville, Tennessee, Pro Se.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter, and Clarence E. Lutz, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WILLIAMS
The petitioner, Joseph R. Wiggins, appeals the Lake County Circuit Court's summary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief. In his petition, he contends that the five-
year sentence he received for a simple rape conviction in 1983, is illegal because of a defective indictment. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the
habeas corpus court's dismissal pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. After review, we conclude that the State's motion is meritorious because the petitioner's
challenged sentence has long expired and he is no longer "restrained of his liberty" pursuant to that conviction. Accordingly, we grant the State's motion and affirm the dismissal.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/wigginsj_080910.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Election 2010
Passages
Legal News
Supreme Court Report
TBA Member Services
TennBarU CLE
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| Election 2010 |
| Henry ahead of Yarbro by 13 votes, recount considered |
| State Sen. Douglas Henry appears to have prevailed over challenger Jeff Yarbro in the District 21 Democratic primary after the Davidson County Election Commission retallied Thursday's votes.
Henry started today with a two-vote lead and two provisional ballots outstanding. Yarbro received both provisional votes, but only after a recalculation of votes that had been counted by hand last week put Henry ahead by 13 votes, election officials said this morning. Yarbro said in a statement that "before certifying this election, voters should know with certainty there were no irregularities in the voting or counting process," and that "a recount appears to be in order."
Kathryn Sasser, who is providing legal counsel for Yarbro, said it's too premature to know whether the Yarbro campaign plans to ask for a recount, but called the sudden change in voting numbers "concerning." The initial count on Election night showed Yarbro with an 18-point advantage, according to the
The City Paper.
Henry's campaign finance chairman Bob Thomas said
"We would not be opposed to a recount." |
The Tennessean has the story
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| Anderson Juvenile Court race still undecided |
| The Anderson County race for Juvenile Court judge remains tied after two provisional ballots were rejected Saturday.
Interim Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Fisher, a Democrat, and Republican Zach Farrar each received 6,442 votes. The commission voted on Saturday to recount all absentee ballots this week.
If the recount results in a second tie, by state law the decision will rest in the hands of the Anderson County Commission. |
WATE.com reports
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| Election 'review' called for by Shelby Co. Commission |
| The Shelby County Election Commission has asked for an "independent agency to review the Aug. 5 election" in light of problems that led to some voters being turned away and others casting provisional ballots.
The commission said the problem occurred because a database of early voters for the May primaries was incorrectly loaded into Electronic Polling Books, rather than the database of early voters from the Aug. 5 election. Therefore, some voters were told the computers showed that they had already voted. |
Get the details from the Commercial Appeal
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| Passages |
| Memphis attorney Charles Crump dies, service Thursday |
| Memphis attorney Charles Metcalf Crump of Apperson Crump PLC died Sunday at the
age of 96.
He received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1937 and was a member of the Tennessee General Assembly from 1939 to 1943.
A memorial service will be held at Church of the Holy Communion,
4645 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, with a
reception immediately following. In
lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Church of the Holy Communion,
Rhodes College or a charity of choice. |
Read more about Mr. Crump from the firm
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| Legal News |
| Syverud named trustee for BP fund distribution |
| BP PLC today named former Vanderbilt Law School Dean Kent Syverud as one of two lawyers
to serve as trustees of the planned $20 billion fund for oil spill victims. Syverud served as dean at Vanderbilt from 1997 to 2005. He is now dean of Washington University Law School in St. Louis.
The other trustee is John Martin Jr., who served as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1990 to 2003. |
The Blog of Legal Times reports
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| TBA YLD recognized for public and member services |
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The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division was awarded the
American Bar Association YLD's top awards for a public service project and
member publication on Saturday in San Francisco. YLD President Tasha Blakney
was in town for the ABA YLD's Annual Meeting and accepted the awards. In the
public service category, the YLD was recognized for its efforts recruiting
volunteer lawyers, providing training and organizing the delivery of legal
services after flooding devastated Middle and West Tennessee in May. In the
publication category, the YLD's quarterly newsletter, the Tennessee Young
Lawyer, was recognized as the best bar publication among the group.
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See a photo of Blakney accepting the award on tbaconnect.org
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| Supreme Court Report |
| Kagan sworn in as Supreme Court associate justice |
| Elena Kagan was sworn in as a U.S. Supreme Court justice Saturday by Chief Justice John Roberts. Watch the video on C-SPAN.
Afterward, Kagan said she would uphold the rule of law, pledging to "work my hardest and try my best to fulfill these commitments and serve this country I love as well as I am able." She will join two other female justices in the court, and is the fourth woman ever to be appointed.
Even though the court is in recess, Kagan has plenty of work to do. According to one story, "She'll be hiring law clerks and secretaries, setting up her chambers, wading into thousands of incoming petitions and handling emergency matters -- which may soon include an appeal of a stay in the California same-sex marriage case."
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The ABA Journal connects you to stories from the National Law Journal, The Blog of Legal Times and The New York Times.
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| Court make-up changes, but outcomes likely to stay same |
| In an interview with The Associated Press in her Supreme Court office, Justice Ginsburg reflected on the the fact that there are three women now on the court. "We are one-third of this court," she said.
No longer a momentous event, the appointment of a woman to the high court has become, Ginsburg said, "expectable."
But having three women on the court may not change the outcome of any cases. The justices, after all, regularly divide 5-4 along ideological lines in high-profile cases.
"Having this seat occupied by a woman does not in and of itself change the way this justice votes," said Vanderbilt University law professor Tracey George. |
News Channel 9 carried this AP story
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| TBA Member Services |
| Program offers savings on auto insurance |
| See how being a member of the TBA could help you save 8 percent on car insurance. GEICO offers 24-hour sales, service and claims. Call GEICO at (800) 368-2734
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or get an online rate quote
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| TennBarU CLE |
| What you need to know about bail bonds |
| Do you need to know more about bail bonds and the factors a court must consider in lowering a bail bond? To learn this and review a new DUI bail bond law that will take effect Jan. 1, 2011, join Nashville attorney Rob McKinney for a CLE webcast tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon Central time.
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Find out more or register now
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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
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