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| Monday, December 06, 2010 |
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Board of Law Examiners change grading of bar exam
The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners (BLE) announced today that beginning with the February 2011 Tennessee Bar
Examination all essay scores will be scaled to the Multistate Bar
Examination (MBE). A combined total of 270 points will be needed to pass it.
The BLE statement says it will no longer regrade and send copies of applicants' unsuccessful essays to them as has been the practice, and that for unsuccessful examinees only, the
board will report three scores: the overall total Tennessee Bar
exam score, the MBE-scaled score and the total scaled essay
score. The overall total score will be the sum of
the MBE scaled score and the total scaled essay score.
Beginning with the February 2012 exam, the BLE says the test
will be made up of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate
Performance Test (MPT) and nine state essay questions. The exam will
be given on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July each
year, with the MPT and state essays given on Tuesday and the MBE on
Wednesday. The dates of the February 2012 exam will
be Feb. 28-29, and the July 2012 exam will be July
24- 25. Because of the change in the
testing schedule applicants will no longer be able to take two state bar
exams concurrently, the BLE statement says.
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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
02 - TN Court of Appeals
01 - 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_120610.pdf
CITIZENS CHOICE HOME CARE SERVICES, INC. v. UNITED AMERICAN HEALTH CARE CORPORATION
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Kevin A. Snider, Germantown, Tennessee, for the appellant, Citizens Choice Home Care Services, Inc.
Jeffrey C. Smith and Tricia T. Olson, Memphis, Tennessee, and Guilford F. Thornton, Jr. and Paul D. Krivacka, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, United American Health Care
Corporation.
Judge: STAFFORD
This is an appeal from the grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant/Appellee. Plaintiff/Appellant filed suit on the basis of Defendant/Appellee's alleged underpayment of
fees earned pursuant to a contract between the parties. The trial court found that the contract was not ambiguous as to the applicable fee schedule and that Plaintiff/Appellant's
interpretation was incorrect as a matter of law. Discerning no error, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2010/citizenschoice_120610.pdf
LINDSI ALLISON CONNORS v. JEREMY PHILLIP LAWSON
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
H. Franklin Chancey, Cleveland, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Jeremy Phillip Lawson.
Lindsi Allison Connors, pro se Appellee.
Judge: SWINEY
Lindsi Allison Connors ("Mother") and Jeremy Phillip Lawson ("Father") are the parents of a daughter (the "Child") who currently is eight years old. Several parenting plans have been
entered over the years. Mother eventually moved with the Child to Florida, and thereafter, Father filed a petition claiming there had been a material change in circumstances such that it was in the Child's best interest for him to be designated the primary residential parent. Father also sought to have Mother held in contempt of court. Following a hearing, the Trial Court found Mother in contempt but refused to mete out any punishment for the contemptuous conduct. The Trial Court made no mention in its final judgment as to the petition for a change in custody. The Trial Court then abdicated jurisdiction and instructed the parties to take up any future matters with the Florida courts. We vacate the Trial Court's judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2010/connorsl_120610.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BRANDON STACY LAMBERT
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert W. White, Maryville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Brandon Stacy Lambert.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Matthew Bryant Haskell, Assistant Attorney General; Michael L. Flynn, District Attorney General; and Clinton Frazier,
Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: OGLE
The appellant, Brandon Stacy Lambert, was convicted of numerous drug related offenses, aggravated burglary, theft, and burglary. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of seventeen years. The appellant was granted probation and was ordered to complete the drug court program. After the appellant was dismissed from the drug court program, the trial court revoked his probation and ordered him to serve his original sentence in confinement.
On appeal, the appellant concedes a "technical violation" of the conditions of probation but requests that he once again be granted probation. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2010/lambertb_120610.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Politics
U.S. Supreme Court
Disciplinary Actions
Upcoming
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Warden says he can check consciousness |
| Riverbend Maximum Security Institution warden Ricky Bell says he has the qualifications to check an inmate for consciousness during an execution despite a lack of medical training.
Being able to ensure an inmate is properly sedated will be at the center of court hearings in Davidson County Chancery Court, ordered by the Tennessee Supreme Court after all scheduled executions were put on hold. The state has said that Bell will brush Stephen Michael West's eyelashes, shake him and call his name. Today the court issued the
scheduling order
for West.
In other news today, a Texas judge held a
hearing on the constitutionality of the death penalty
in that state.
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| Report: Legal jobs down again in November |
| The monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released Friday, shows that the legal services sector lost 1,100 jobs in November. Currently there are 100 less legal jobs in the U.S. than at this point in 2009. |
Learn more from The AmLaw Daily
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| 9th Circuit looks at Prop 8 |
| The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest court to consider the legality of same-sex marriage in California, convening
a nationally televised hearing today in San Francisco.
A related story
profiles Ted Olson, a conservative who has become the unlikely champion of efforts to overturn Proposition 8 in federal court. |
NPR has analysis
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| Politics |
| Haslam picks Cate for special assistant |
| Governor-elect Bill Haslam announced today he has chosen Mark Cate of Maryville, who was his campaign manager, to be a special assistant in Nashville with duties as a political adviser, handling special projects and helping the governor's deputy with management. |
The News Sentinel has more
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| U.S. Supreme Court |
| Court may end climate-challenge suit involving TVA |
| The U.S. Supreme Court agreed today to consider ending a federal lawsuit by eight states, New York City and others that accuses several power companies -- including the Tennessee Valley Authority -- of being among the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world. The suit asks a federal judge to order reductions in the emissions in plants in 20 states.
The power companies do not want courts getting involved in the issue. They argue that only the Environmental Protection Agency can set emissions standards. |
The News Sentinel carried this AP story
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| Disciplinary Actions |
| Wilson County lawyer suspended |
| Wilson County lawyer Gary Wayne Vandever was temporarily suspended from the practice of law by the Supreme Court on Nov. 24. The court found that he had failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct. |
Download the BPR release
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| Nashville lawyer suspended |
| The Tennessee Supreme Court on Nov. 17 temporarily suspended Nashville lawyer Kymberly Haas from the practice of law upon finding that she failed to respond to the Board regarding a complaint of misconduct. |
Download the BPR release
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| Upcoming |
| Law firm a sponsor of 5K to prevent child abuse |
| The law firm of Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge is sponsoring this year's Snowflake 5K to
benefit the organization, Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee (PCAT). The race is
Dec. 11, at Shelby Bottoms Park in East Nashville. All
proceeds from the event will benefit PCAT, which provides several programs
and services to help strengthen families and reduce the risk of child abuse
in Tennessee. Sponsorships are still available
at very level, ranging from a $100 to $5,000 donation. Firms and individuals also have the
opportunity to "sponsor a girl" or several girls, allowing at-risk youth to
participate in the race. For more information on sponsorship opportunities
or to register to run the 5K, contact Jenney Keaty at
jkeaty@kcbattys.com
or 615-297-1007.
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| TBA Member Services |
| CompuPay offers deals for TBA members |
| CompuPay is proud to serve as the official payroll services provider for the Tennessee Bar Association. To serve Tennessee attorneys the company is offering two months of free payroll processing for all TBA members and waiving set up fees for members with up to 99 employees. |
Learn more about CompuPay's benefits
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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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