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| Tuesday, May 03, 2011 |
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10 apply for Court of Criminal Appeals vacancy
Ten Middle Tennessee attorneys have applied to fill the judicial vacancy on the Court of Criminal Appeals created by the impending retirement of Judge David H. Welles.
The Judicial Nominating Commission will hold a public meeting on June 6, to interview the following candidates:
Don R. Ash, Circuit Court judge, 16th Judicial District, Murfreesboro;
Jeffrey S. Bivins,
Circuit Court judge, 21st Judicial District,
Franklin;
Jeffrey Allen DeVasher,
assistant public defender,
Office of the Metropolitan Public Defender,
Nashville;
Paige Robinson Dixon Jr.,
senior attorney,
Office of the Attorney General & Reporter,
Nashville;
Mark A. Fulks, senior counsel and appellate team leader, Office of the Attorney General & Reporter,
Nashville;
Nancy Jones,
chief disciplinary counsel,
Board of Professional Responsibility,
Brentwood;
Kathy Morante,
assistant district attorney, 20th Judicial District,
Nashville;
Roger Eric Nell, district public defender, 19th Judicial District,
Clarksville;
John Byers Nisbet III, assistant public defender, 13th Judicial District,
Cookeville: and
Gordon W. Smith, associate solicitor general,
Office of the Attorney General & Reporter,
Nashville.
The Administrative Office of the Courts has more
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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.
00 - 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
02 - TN Supreme Court - Disciplinary Orders
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.
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IN RE ANTONIO C. F., JR.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Robert B. Pyle, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, LaCondra DeShay B.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General & Reporter, and Alexander S. Rieger, Assistant Attorney General, General Civil Division, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tennessee
Department of Children's Services.
Rachel M. Stephens, Hixson, 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 LaCondra DeShay B. ("Mother") to her minor child
Antonio C. F., Jr. ("the Child") (d.o.b. 7-26-96). Temporary custody of the Child was awarded to DCS on February 21, 2006, and the Child has been in foster care since that date.
During this period of time, DCS made reasonable efforts by offering case management services to the paternal grandmother, Carrie F., who was the Child's custodian at the time of removal, but because she was incapable of managing his behavior, the Child was adjudicated dependent and neglected on April 27, 2006. Following a bench trial on May 21, 2010, the court entered its order finding and holding, inter alia, that clear and convincing evidence existed to support the termination of Mother's parental rights based upon, (a) willfully failing to visit or making only token visitation with the Child for four months immediately preceding the filing of the petition to terminate; (b) abandonment of the Child by willfully failing to support or to make reasonable payments toward the support of the Child for four consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of the petition; and pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. section 36-1-113(i) it is in the best interest of the Child that Mother's parental rights be terminated. Mother appeals, asserting that DCS failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that
termination of her parental rights was in the best interest of the Child. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/antoniocf_050311.pdf
PAUL L. McMILLIN v. LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Paul L. McMillin, Knoxville, Tennessee, appellant pro se.
Howard B. Jackson, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Lincoln Memorial University, Valerie Evans, William Hamby, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Judge: MCCLARTY
The plaintiff sued the university and two of its representatives for negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, negligence, and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, alleging that the placement of special credits on his transcript in contradiction to the school's
policies and procedures rendered his transcript without value and, consequently, damaged his future applications for employment or graduate school. The trial court entered summary judgment for the defendants. The plaintiff appealed. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/mcmillin_050311.pdf
ORLANDO JONES v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Susan Korsnes (at post-conviction hearing) and Joseph T. Howell (on appeal) Jackson, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Orlando Jones.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Cameron L. Hyder, Assistant Attorney General; James G. Woodall, District Attorney General; and Jody S. Pickens, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Petitioner, Orlando Jones, pled guilty as a Range III offender to aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping in exchange for an effective
sentence of twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that he received the ineffective assistance of
counsel and that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The pos-tconviction court denied relief after a hearing, and the Petitioner now appeals. After a
thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the post-conviction court's judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/joneso_050311.pdf
IN RE: JESSICA NICOLE MANLEY, BPR 027399
Court: TSC-Disciplinary_Order
Judge: WADE
Reinstatement
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/manleyj_050311.pdf
WILLIAM B. PENN v. BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Court: TSC-Disciplinary_Order
Appeal Dismissed
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/pennw_050311.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Disaster Relief
General Assembly News
U.S. Supreme Court
Career Opportunities
Disciplinary Actions
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Kevin Sharp confirmed as federal judge |
| Nashville lawyer Kevin Sharp was confirmed on Monday as a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
The vote was 89-0 with 11 members not voting. Sharp, 48, served in the Navy for almost four years and earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1993.
Since 2003 he has been a partner at Drescher & Sharp. |
The Tennessean carried this story
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| Former Judge Clayton dies in courtroom |
| Former Circuit Court Judge James K. Clayton died this morning just before General Sessions Court was to begin at the Cannon County Courthouse.
Clayton, retired from the 16th Judicial District, reportedly collapsed in the entryway to the courtroom.
He practiced law following his retirement from the bench in August 2008, and was due to be in court Tuesday to represent a client.
General Sessions Judge Susan Melton cancelled court Tuesday and all cases on the docket were reset to a later day. |
The Cannon Courier has more
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| Could Torrence be thrown out? D.A. looks into it |
| Davidson County District Attorney General Torry Johnson is looking into whether Criminal Court Clerk David Torrence can be punished for working less than full-time and hiring his sons, a spokeswoman for Johnson said today. WSMV-Channel 4 reported last week that Torrence, who was elected to a fifth four-year term last year, works three days a week, regularly uses a government vehicle to run personal errands and hired two of his sons into positions he didn't advertise.
The council's attorney, Jon Cooper, says that the council has no power on that front, but state law allows for an "ouster" to remove "elected officials who knowingly or willfully commit official misconduct or neglect to perform duties imposed upon them by law." |
The Tennessean reports
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| Southern Poverty Law Center celebrates 40 years |
| This week, more than 2,000 people are in Montgomery, Ala., to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Morris Dees, 64, founded the SPLC with fellow attorney Joe Levin in 1971. In this story, the former SPLC president answers questions about how the organization came about, what it has accomplished and where it might be headed. |
The Tennessean has the story
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| Bin Laden killing raises legal questions |
| The killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is engaging some of the thorniest questions of the United States' post-Sept. 11 campaign against terrorism, including the government's legal justification for carrying out the targeted killing of suspected terrorists.
Lawyers who specialize in national security said today that the United States had several possible legal justifications for carrying out Sunday's strike. But the operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, raises other issues, too. |
The Blog of Legal Times has more
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| Disaster Relief |
| More volunteers needed for disaster-related cases |
| Lawyers interested in helping disaster victims can now register on the TBA website to provide in- person or telephone assistance for those who need legal advice. For those who volunteer, the TBA has a number of resources available. In addition to a Disaster Assistance Manual produced by the TBA's Young Lawyers Division, the TBA is offering two free online CLE programs on providing disaster assistance and working with FEMA. Access these resources |
Volunteer to help storm victims
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| Toll-free legal hotline available |
| A toll-free legal assistance hotline is now available for victims of recent storms, tornadoes and flooding in Tennessee counties designated as federal disaster areas. The service, which allows callers to request free advice from a lawyer, is a partnership between the Tennessee Bar Association and the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. Victims facing legal issues may call (888) 395-9297 any time to request assistance. The counties are Bradley, Greene, Hamilton and Washington. |
Read more about the resource
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| General Assembly News |
| Bill allowing guns in court passes House |
| The House voted 86-7 Monday night to allow judges to carry guns into courtrooms if they have a handgun carry permit and attend specified training sessions.
The measure, HB2039, sparked very little floor debate. As amended in committee, it requires judges to go through a 16-hour training session on courtroom security as well as attend a firearms safety class in order to take guns to court. |
The News Sentinel has this story
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| Senate votes to end teachers' collective bargaining |
| The state Senate voted 18-14 Monday night to end 33 years of collective bargaining by teachers in Tennessee. In the House, the Finance Committee referred the bill back to the Education Committee this afternoon. The bill, SB113, would repeal the Education Professional Negotiations Act of 1978, which allows teachers' associations in each school district to decide by majority vote whether to engage in collective bargaining over salaries, benefits and workplace issues with their local school boards. |
Follow the actions in the Commercial Appeal
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| U.S. Supreme Court |
| 6th Circuit reversed, death penalty back on for Mitts |
| On Monday the Supreme Court summarily reversed the Sixth Circuit and reinstated the death penalty against Harry Mitts.
Chattanooga attorney Lee Davis explains |
in the Chattanoogan.com
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| Career Opportunities |
| Human Services Dept. seeks general counsel |
| The Tennessee Department of Human Services is seeking an assistant general counsel to be responsible for in-house counsel and litigation support for the department's Division of Rehabilitation Services in Nashville. The position also would provide litigation support services as needed for personnel actions, childcare licensing actions and Adult Protective Services cases. Contact Jeff Owens at (615) 313-4700 for more information or to apply.
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Read more on JobLink
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| Disciplinary Actions |
| Court dismisses appeal of BPR decision |
| The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order on April 25 dismissing an appeal of a Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) hearing panel decision, and vacating an order from the Shelby County Chancery Court that had upheld that decision. The Supreme Court found that the appeal from William B. Penn had not been properly perfected and directed the BPR to provide a copy of the panel's decision to the court for review. |
Download the court order
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| Lawyers reinstated after paying BPR fee |
| Matthew Alden Boyd of Atlanta; Jessica Nicole Manley of Memphis; David Radke of Lufkin, Texas; Kristine A. Snow of Waupun, Wis.; and Brigitte Tubbs-Jones of Murfreesboro were reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee after paying their annual Board of Professional Responsibility registration fees and associated penalties.
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| Lawyer reinstated after completing CLE hours |
| Memphis lawyer Jessica Nicole Manley was reinstated to the practice of law on April 28 after complying with requirements for continuing legal education. She had been suspended on Sept. 4, 2009, for failing to meet 2008 CLE requirements.
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Download the court order reinstating her
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| TBA Member Services |
| Office Depot Discounts |
| Are you saving yet? Sign up for the TBA-Office Depot Program and begin saving. TBA Members receive significant discounts on office supplies from the store. |
Find out more
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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 2011 Tennessee Bar Association
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