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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

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Judge Donald 'breezes' through confirmation hearing

U.S. District Court Judge Bernice B. Donald, who has been nominated for a seat on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today and fielded questions about her experience on the bench, whether race influences her decisions, and past rulings. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, though, Donald "breezed through" the hearing. She was introduced to the committee by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-TN, who noted her professional credentials and "extraordinary record of community service and personal achievement."

Read more from Commercial Appeal

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.

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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.

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WANDA ELAINE BROCK

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Steve McEwen, Mountain City, Tennessee (on appeal); and William A. Kennedy, Assistant District Public Defender (at trial), for the appellant, Wanda Elaine Brock.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Assistant Attorney General; H. Greeley Welles, Jr., District Attorney General; and Amber Massengill, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WITT

The defendant, Wanda Elaine Brock, appeals her Sullivan County jury convictions of two counts of aggravated child abuse of a child less than eight years of age and two counts of aggravated child neglect of a child less than eight years of age, Class A felonies. At sentencing, the trial court merged the convictions into one count of aggravated child abuse and imposed a Range I sentence of 20 years to be served at 100 percent by operation of law. See T.C.A. section 40350501(i)(1), (2)(k). On appeal, the defendant challenges (1) the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, (2) the trial court's exclusion of extrinsic evidence concerning an inconsistent statement made by the victim, (3) the length of the sentence imposed, and (4) the trial court's denial of her petition for a writ of error coram nobis. On appeal, we conclude that the evidence is insufficient to support the defendant's convictions of aggravated child neglect. In consequence, with respect to counts three and four, the judgments of conviction are reversed, the verdicts are vacated, and the charges are dismissed. We further conclude, that the trial court erred by excluding extrinsic evidence of the victim's prior inconsistent statement. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of conviction in counts one and two and remand those counts for a new trial. Concerning the trial court's denial of coram nobis relief, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the petition for a writ of error coram nobis and affirm the trial court's order with respect to the coram nobis petition. In summary, the judgments of the trial court in counts three and four are reversed, and the charges are dismissed; the judgments of the trial court in counts one and two are reversed, and the case is remanded for a new trial on those counts; and the order of the trial court denying coram nobis relief is affirmed.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/brockw_031611.pdf

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. KENNETH CLAY

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

James E. Lanier, District Public Defender, and Patrick McGill, Assistant Public Defender, Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kenneth Clay.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Cameron L. Hyder, Assistant Attorney General; Phillip Bivens, District Attorney General; and Rachel Willis and Lance Webb, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: MCLIN

A jury convicted the defendant, Kenneth Clay, of two counts of facilitation of the sale of less than .5 gram of cocaine, Class D felonies. The trial court sentenced the defendant, as a career offender, to concurrent twelve-year sentences for each count. On appeal, the defendant argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to convict him of facilitation of the sale of a Schedule II narcotic less than .5 gram; (2) the court erred by admitting evidence of the defendant's prior convictions for the sale of Schedule II narcotics; and (3) the statutes under which the court sentenced him are unconstitutional as applied to him. After reviewing the record, the parties' briefs, and applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/clayk_031611.pdf

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LAKEITH HUMPHREY

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

William Massey, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, LaKeith Humphrey.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; David H. Findley, Senior Counsel; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; Paul Hagerman and Cavett Ostner, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WILLIAMS

The defendant, LaKeith Humphrey, was convicted of premeditated first degree murder. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. On appeal, he argues that: the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; the trial court erred in granting a special jury instruction; the trial court abused its discretion by allowing some testimony and limiting other testimony; the trial court erred in admitting the murder weapon into evidence; and the cumulative effect of these errors suffices to justify a new trial. After careful review, we affirm the judgment from the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/humphreyl_031611.pdf

ANTONIO KENDRICK v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Antonio Kendrick, Joliet, Illinois, Pro Se.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: MCMULLEN

The petitioner, Antonio Kendrick, appeals the Criminal Court of Shelby County's dismissal of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the trial court's dismissal pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/kendricka_031611.pdf

MARIA MACLIN v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Brett B. Stein, Memphis, Tennessee for the petitioner-appellant, Maria Maclin.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Clark B. Thornton, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: MCMULLEN

The Petitioner, Maria Maclin, appeals from the Criminal Court of Shelby County's dismissal of her petition for post-conviction relief. The State filed a motion requesting this court to affirm the post-conviction court's order pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Upon review, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/maclinm_031611.pdf

YOUNG BOK SONG v. HOWARD CARLTON, WARDEN

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Gerald L. Gulley, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Young Bok Song.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner, Senior Counsel; and Anthony Wade Clark, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WILLIAMS

The petitioner, Young Bok Song, appeals from the trial court's summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner alleges that he was denied the opportunity to contact the Korean Consulate General in violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Treaty; therefore, he asserts that his judgments of conviction for seven counts of rape of a child and four counts of aggravated sexual battery are void. We conclude that the petition fails to state a cognizable claim, and, therefore, the petition is a proper subject for summary dismissal. The judgment from the trial court is affirmed.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/songy_031611.pdf

Reimbursement for Transportation of Individuals to be Involuntarily Hospitalized

TN Attorney General Opinions

Date: 2011-03-16

Opinion Number: 11-22

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_22.pdf

Constitutionality of Repeal of Post-Conviction Procedure Act

TN Attorney General Opinions

Date: 2011-03-16

Opinion Number: 11-23

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_23.pdf

TODAY'S NEWS

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Tanner joins Nashville firm

Recently retired congressman John Tanner -- who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 22 years -- has joined the Nashville office of Miller & Martin. He will provide strategic advice to firm clients in the areas of taxation and tariffs, international business development, foreign relations, government, military relations and the environment. In addition to joining Miller & Martin, Tanner has signed on to serve as vice chairman of Prime Policy Group, a government and public affairs firm, in Washington D.C. His responsibilities there will include augmenting the group's participation in the World Law Group, a global law firm network.

The Nashville Post reports (subscription required)

Mock trial photos available

Additional details about this past weekend's High School Mock Trial Competition, and pictures of teams and award winners, are now available online at the competition webpage. High-resolution versions of the photographs also are available for download on that page. In addition, photos of lawyers who participated in the event are available for viewing on TBAConnect.

View those photos here

Legal Aid Society launches fundraising campaign

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands recently held a kickoff luncheon for its annual fundraising campaign. Nashville lawyer Margaret L. Behm, chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission, gave the keynote address and called on lawyers, judges, elected officials and community supporters to work together to attack the civil needs crisis. Nashville lawyer Gail Vaughn Ashworth is chair of the campaign, which is aiming to raise $720,000 this year. For information about the campaign, email Cindy Durham or call her at (615) 780-7125.

The Business & Heritage News of Clarksville has the story

UT Law raises funds for diversity scholarship

The University of Tennessee College of Law recently held its annual Blackshear Gala, at which three law students were recognized with leadership awards and faculty member Dwight Aarons was honored posthumously for his dedication and service to the Black Law Students' Association. Over 160 law firms, corporations and individuals attended the event and donated to the school's diversity scholarship fund.