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Thursday, January 27, 2011

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TBA's public service lunch program now online

If you missed hearing about the great works being performed by Tennessee lawyers at the recent TBA Public Service Luncheon, you now can watch it online. The luncheon, held during the TBA's annual Leadership Conference for bar leaders across the state, featured a keynote address by ABA President-elect Bill Robinson with Frost Brown Todd LLC in Cincinnati, presentation of pro bono awards and presentation of a special presidential award of valor to Cordova attorney James Causey.

Watch the event

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
01 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
02 - TN Court of Appeals
05 - 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.

DOROTHY MICHAUD v. REHAB CARE GROUP

Court: TWCA

Attorneys:

Ronald L. Harper and Charles R. Patrick, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Rehab Care Group, Inc.

Edward L. Martindale, Jr., Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellee, Dorothy Michaud.

Judge: CHILDRESS

The employee sustained a compensable injury to her shoulder. As a result of her medical restrictions, she was unable to return to work at her previous job. The trial court adopted the impairment rating assigned by the physician conducting the employee's Independent Medical Examination over that of the treating doctor and awarded 48% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. The employer appealed. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/2011/michaudd_012711.pdf

IN RE DESTINY H. A. A. M. M. M., ET AL.

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Matthew C. Rogers, Athens, Tennessee, for the appellant, Christina M.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General & Reporter, Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General, and Elizabeth C. Driver, Senior Counsel, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tennessee Department of Children's Services.

Laurie Hallenberg, Knoxville, Tennessee, Guardian ad Litem.

Judge: MCCLARTY

The State of Tennessee Department of Children's Services ("DCS") filed a petition seeking to terminate the parental rights of Christina M. ("Mother") to her daughters Jazsman (d.o.b.5/28/08) and Destiny (d.o.b. 11/18/09). DCS was excused from being required to make reasonable efforts to assist Mother to accomplish the goal of reunification because she has previously had children removed involuntarily from her custody. Tenn. Code Ann. section 37-1-166(g)(4). The trial court found and held that clear and convincing evidence existed on the ground of mental incompetence to terminate Mother's parental rights and that termination was in the best interest of the children. Mother appeals, asserting that DCS should have been required to make reasonable efforts to maintain her daughters in her care. We affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/destinyh_012711.pdf

DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST CO. v. R. D. ALDRIDGE, ET AL.

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Curtis Byrd, Jr., Memphis, Tennessee, pro se.

Jason S. Mangrum, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellee, Deutsche Bank National Trust Co.

Judge: HIGHERS

Bank purchased property at a foreclosure sale, and a tenant of the previous owner continued to occupy the property after the sale. The deed of trust executed by the previous owner provided that if the property was sold, any person holding possession of the property through the borrower would either surrender possession of the property or become a tenant at will of the purchaser. Bank filed a detainer warrant against the tenant and was awarded possession of the property by the general sessions court. On appeal, the circuit court also awarded possession to the Bank. The tenant appeals. For the following reasons, we affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/deutschebank_012711.pdf

RONNIE BRADFIELD v. HENRY STEWARD, ACTING WARDEN

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Ronnie Bradfield, Henning, Tennessee, Pro Se.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; and Leslie E. Price, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: GLENN

The pro se petitioner, Ronnie Bradfield, appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court's summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Following our review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/bradfieldr_012711.pdf

KENNETH C. DAVIS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Rolfe A. Straussfogel, Sevierville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kenneth C. Davis.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Clark B. Thornton, Assistant Attorney General; James B. (Jimmy) Dunn, District Attorney General; and Johnnie D. Sellars, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WILLIAMS

The petitioner, Kenneth Clay Davis, appeals the Sevier County Circuit Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner was convicted of identity theft, a Class D felony, and driving after being declared a habitual motor vehicle offender, a Class E felony, and was sentenced, as a career offender, to an effective sentence of twelve years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the petitioner asserts that the denial of the petition was error because: (1) his due process rights were violated by the State's failure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the offenses were committed before the return of the indictment; and (2) he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel. Following review of the record, we find no error in the denial and affirm the judgment of the Sevier County Circuit Court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/davisk_012711.pdf

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. PERRY AVRAM MARCH

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

John E. Herbison, Nashville, Tennessee; William D. Massey and Lorna S. McClusky, Memphis, Tennessee, for the for the appellant, Perry Avram March.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; Tom Thurman, Assistant District Attorney General; and Katrin Miller, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee.

Judge: WOODALL

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Perry Avram March, was convicted of second degree murder, a Class A felony, abuse of a corpse, a Class E felony, and destruction of evidence, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range I, standard offender, to twenty-five years for his murder conviction, two years for his abuse of a corpse conviction, and five years for his destruction of evidence conviction. The trial court ordered Defendant to serve his sentences for his Class C and Class E felonies consecutive to his sentence for his murder conviction, and his murder conviction in this case consecutive to his sentence in case no. 2005-D-2854 of twenty-four years for his conviction of conspiracy to commit first degree murder, for an effective sentence of fifty-six years. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence (1) his statements to Detective Postiglione on August 12, 2005; (2) his taped conversations with Nathaniel Farris while Defendant was housed in the Davidson County Jail awaiting trial; (3) Leigh Reames' testimony concerning Defendant's prior conduct; and (4) the draft of a novel written by Defendant. Defendant also contends that the State's prosecution of the offenses of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence are time-barred and, alternatively, that the tolling of the statute of limitations in criminal cases violates his constitutional right to travel and denies him equal protection under the law. Defendant submits that the cumulative effect of these errors denied him his constitutional right to due process. After a thorough review we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/marchp_012711.pdf

ANTHONY LEON MOORE v. JOE EASTERLING, WARDEN

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Anthony Leon Moore, Whiteville, 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: GLENN

The pro se petitioner, Anthony Leon Moore, appeals the Hardeman County Circuit Court's dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the lower court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Because the petitioner has failed to establish that his convictions are void or his sentences illegal, we conclude that the State's motion is well-taken. Accordingly, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/moorea_012711.pdf

CHRISTOPHER PERRY v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

R. Todd Mosley (on appeal) and Susan Bjorklund (at hearing), Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Christopher Perry.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Clark B. Thornton, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Kevin Rardin, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: GLENN

The petitioner, Christopher Perry, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his first degree murder conviction, arguing that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by his failure to properly investigate the case and advise him about testifying at trial. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/perryc_012711.pdf

TODAY'S NEWS

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Legal News

High court overturns lawyer's suspension

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday overturned a three-year suspension of Elizabethton attorney Thomas Cowan's law license. A lower court had ruled on April 19 that the Board of Professional Responsibility properly recommended Cowan's suspension. The Supreme Court countered saying both Cowan and the board failed to satisfy the requirements of law in their court petitions. The decision will have no immediate impact on Cowan's law practice, which was closed when he began serving a federal sentence this past fall for attempting to evade the payment of taxes.

The Johnson City Press reports

Juvenile court chief explains departure

Longtime Hamilton County Juvenile Court Administrator Chris Albright says he left his position last week to return to private practice. In a phone message to the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Wednesday, Albright laughed at the repeated calls for comment. "Nothing bad; it was just simple. I resigned, and am going back to practice law," he said. Court directors Sam Mairs and George Lenoir will split Albright's duties of running the day-to-day operations of the courts for presiding Judge Suzanne Bailey until a permanent replacement is found.

The paper has the story

TJC marks 15th year

The Tennessee Justice Center is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and has unveiled a new website and several promotional videos to tell its story. Join Michelle Johnson, TJC co-founder and managing attorney, in this video as she shares her thoughts on the center's founding and accomplishments. Then watch a video celebrating the center's anniversary. In addition, the organization's website has been redesigned to be more user-friendly.

Check it out here

Texas entertainment firm opens Nashville office

Texas law firm Shackelford, Melton & McKinley -- with offices in Austin and Dallas -- has opened a Nashville office to be known as Shackelford, Zumwalt & Hayes. The firm joined forces with longtime Nashville entertainment lawyers Jim Zumwalt and Craig Hayes of Zumwalt, Almon & Hayes PLLC and will offer business, contract, licensing, tax and real estate services to clients in the entertainment and publishing industries. The new office will share space with Zumwalt, Almon & Hayes on Music Row.

Learn more about the new firm

Firm gives billable credit for pro bono

Bass, Berry & Sims recently revised its pro bono policy to give attorneys billable hour credit for up to 50 hours of pro bono work per year. The firm announced it was making the change based on priorities established by the Tennessee Supreme Court and its Access to Justice Commission. The firm reports that billable hour credit is a significant component of its bonus compensation policy for associates, so it hopes the change will encourage more lawyers to take on cases.