 |
| Wednesday, March 09, 2011 |
|
| |
| |
Register now for TBA Chattanooga convention
The past, present and future will all come together this June, when the 130th Annual Tennessee Bar Association Convention opens in downtown Chattanooga. Plan now to be there June 15-18 at The Chattanoogan, Tennessee's premier urban resort hotel. The event will celebrate Tennessee's unique place in the history of law and liberty with an outing to the historic Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton for a Scopes trial session from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Larson. It will also bring attendees to Chattanooga's exciting downtown riverfront, for events at the Tennessee Aquarium -- the top-rated aquarium in America -- and at stages in place for the annual Riverbend Music Festival.
Find out more about the TBA Annual Convention or register 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
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
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
IN RE CONSERVATORSHIP OF KARUBAH CARNAHAN
Original opinion withdrawn and replaced with this substitute opinion
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
John P. Konvalinka and Katherine Higgason Lentz, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Helen Exum Carnahan.
C. Crews Townsend, William A. Harris, and A. Chantelle Roberson, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, Misty L. Carnahan Guerry.
Judge: MCCLARTY
In this conservatorship case, a daughter filed a petition asking the court to appoint her as the conservator of her father, who had experienced cognitive decline after a stroke and required
full-time care in an inpatient facility. The father's spouse protested the appointment of the daughter as the conservator and requested that a neutral third party be appointed instead.
After a hearing, the trial court determined that the daughter was the appropriate person to serve as conservator, and specifically enumerated the power to file for divorce on behalf of the ward to the conservator. The spouse appeals. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/carnahank_030911.pdf
Order regarding new opinion
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/carnahan_ORDER_030911.pdf
GERALD DEON JENKINS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
F.D. Gibson, III, Maryville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Gerald Deon Jenkins.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Matthew Bryant Haskell, Assistant Attorney General; Mike Flynn, District Attorney General; and Tammy Harrington, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
The Petitioner, Gerald Deon Jenkins, entered a best-interest guilty plea to one count of second degree murder, a Class A felony; one count of theft over $500, a Class E felony; one count of theft over $1,000, a Class D felony, and one count of setting fire to personal property, a Class E felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. Subsection 39-13-210(b), -14-103, -14-105(2)-(3), -14-303(b) (2003). The trial court sentenced the Petitioner to twenty-five years for the second degree murder conviction, two years for the theft over $500 conviction, four years for the theft over $1,000 conviction, and two years for the setting fire to personal property conviction. The court ordered that the terms run concurrently for a total effective sentence of twenty-five years. The Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief, and, after a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. In this appeal, the Petitioner presents the following issues for review: (1) The post-conviction court erred when it found that the Petitioner received the effective assistance of counsel; (2) The post-conviction court "commit[ted] error in finding that the sentence of maximum punishment was correct"; and (3) The trial court committed plain error when it considered the convictions contained in the presentence report, failed to consider "lingering doubt or innocence," and incorrectly applied enhancement factors. After our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/jenkinsg_030911.pdf
|
|
 |
|
| TODAY'S NEWS |
|
Legal News
Disciplinary Actions
General Assembly News
TBA Member Services
|
| Legal News |
| Judge Baumgartner jailed; newspaper reports plea expected |
| Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner is expected Thursday to admit buying prescription painkillers from a felon, the News Sentinel reports. Earlier today he was processed through the Knox County jail, the newspaper reports. Baumgartner has been under probe by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation since at least January, when he abruptly stepped down from his post to take an indefinite medical leave.
|
Read more in the News Sentinel
|
| Foundation announces new membership category |
| Tennessee lawyers who participate in the IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers' Trust Accounts) program can now become a voting "participant" member of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. Any lawyer licensed in Tennessee who takes part in the program -- whether as an individual or as a member (principal, employee, or other member) of a law firm, and who is not currently a Fellow of the Foundation -- can enroll as a participant member.
|
Find out more and access a membership form from the Foundation's website
|
| Website offers legal help for veterans |
| Legal assistance for veterans is now available through a new website funded by the Legal Services Corp. and operated by Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Portland, Maine. The site -- StatesideLegal.org -- so far has drawn visitors from all 50 states and 77 countries worldwide.
|
Visit the Statesidelegal.org website now
|
| Johnson to lead Memphis ethics office |
| Memphis attorney Monika Johnson has been hired as the city's chief ethics officer, filling in the final piece of a new Board of Ethics with broad powers to investigate city employees and elected officials. Johnson most recently served as director of contract services for Memphis City Schools.
|
Read more in the Commercial Appeal
|
| Alabama justice predicts job cuts in courts |
| Alabama could cut 400 to 500 court employees next year due to budget cuts. Presenting her "state of the courts" address to a joint session of the Alabama House and Senate, Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb says anticipated cuts of as much as 10 percent would hurt the court system.
|
WRCB has more
|
| Committee to study safety issues |
| The new George Jaynes Justice Center has been open less than two years, but safety issues continue to surface. Washington County already has a task force to address some problems, but now the county's Public Safety Committee is also looking at safety and security issues. |
Find out more from the Johnson City Press
|
| Rhea County looking at new jail |
| The Rhea County Jail Committee is now focusing its efforts on building a new jail or justice center instead of expanding the current jail. TWH Architects President Vance Travis estimated that the project could cost between $10.2 million and $16.3 million depending on location and whether or not a new jail or justice center, which would include courtrooms, is built. |
The Herald-News has more
|
| Forget the beach; students go pro bono for spring break |
| Seventeen students from nine universities across the nation are joining students at the University Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law for an alternative spring break this week, helping provide free legal service to elderly and low-income people in Memphis. |
Read more about their experience from the Daily News
|
| Memphis voters say yes to unified schools |
| A solid majority of Memphis voters yesterday said they want to transfer administration of the Memphis City School System to the Shelby County Board of Education. With 67 percent of those voting approving the referendum, the schools now will start the process of consolidating city and suburban schools.
|
Read more from the Commercial Appeal
|
| Disciplinary Actions |
| Union City lawyer publicly censured |
| Union City lawyer Henry Allen Nohsey was publicly censured on March 3 by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court, which found he had violated Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(a) (conflict of interest, prohibited transactions).
|
Read the full BPR news release
|
| General Assembly News |
| Track legislation of interest to Tennessee attorneys |
| The 107th Tennessee General Assembly is now in session and the TBA has a number of tools to help you track the status of legislation. Watch TBA Today for regular news updates and follow the TBA Action List to track bills in the General Assembly that the TBA has a direct interest in -- those it has initiated, taken a position on, or has a policy on. The TBA Watch List is a broader list of bills of interest to the Tennessee legal community. |
Find complete TBA legislative resources
|
| TBA Member Services |
| New solutions for your insurance needs |
| Working with Graham Swafford III of Capital Financial Group, the TBA Member Insurance Solutions Program is able to provide members with exclusive benefits, personalized service, and pricing discounts for disability income insurance, business overhead expense insurance, life and long-term care insurance with other employee related benefits. TBA Member Insurance Solutions can also provide an objective review of your current health insurance program, evaluate your needs, and recommend the most cost effective solution. |
Learn more about TBA Insurance Solutions now
|
| |
|
| |
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 2011 Tennessee Bar Association
|
|
|
