 |
| Friday, June 17, 2011 |
|
| |
| |
Van Horn sworn in as 129th TBA president
Memphis lawyer Danny Van Horn was installed today as the 129th president of the Tennessee Bar Association during the Lawyers Luncheon at the group's annual convention in Chattanooga. Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Connie Clark administered the oath of office to Van Horn, the youngest lawyer to lead the 11,000-member association. Van Horn promised a year with "All Access," focusing on access to justice, civics education and professional development.
The work, he said, will build on Immediate Past President Sam Elliott and other presidents' work.
Mason Wilson today also took the reins of the association's Young Lawyers Division from Tasha Blakney.
At the luncheon, the TBA YLD Fellows' William M. Leech Public Service Award was given to Howard H. Vogel of Knoxville, a former TBA president. The Justice Joseph Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing was presented to Memphis lawyer Taylor C. Berger for his article that was published in the July 2010 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal; the Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award went to the Hon. John J. Maddux of Cookeville.
Elliott presented President's Awards to Jimmie Lynn Ramsaur and Hal North. Winners of the TBA's YouTube Video contest, an initiative of Elliott to encourage students to learn more about history and civics, were honored.
Also honored were TBA Board of Governors members whose terms have ended: Gail Vaughn Ashworth, David Changas, Mike Dunavant, Chancellor Skip Frierson, Gerald Melton and Nick McCall; and Bill Harbison, who is retiring from the board.
See pictures from today's events on TBAConnect
|
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
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
00 - 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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
JAMES CROWLEY ET AL. v. WENDY THOMAS
Court: TSC
Attorneys:
Amy J. Farrar, Donald N. Capparella, Larry R. McElhaney, II, and Penny Pruitt Riddle, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, James Crowley and Joan Crowley.
Scott A. Rhodes, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellee, Wendy Thomas.
Judge: HOLDER
The plaintiff obtained a judgment against the defendant in the general sessions court. The defendant appealed to the circuit court. In the circuit court, the plaintiff amended his
complaint to add an additional plaintiff and an additional cause of action and to seek additional damages. Shortly before trial, the defendant filed a notice dismissing her appeal. The circuit court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgment of the general sessions court pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 27-5-107 (2000). We hold that the circuit court properly dismissed the defendant's appeal and affirmed the general sessions judgment. To preserve the plaintiff's original cause of action after such dismissal, the plaintiff must perfect an appeal to the circuit court as prescribed by Tennessee Code Annotated section 27-5-108 (2000). We therefore affirm the judgment of the lower courts.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/crowleyj_061711.pdf
GENEIL HAILEY DILLEHAY v. VELMER JEAN GIBBS
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
John D. Kitch, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Geneil Hailey Dillehay.
Jacky O. Bellar and Jamie D. Winkler, Carthage, Tennessee, for the appellee, Velmer Jean Gibbs.
Judge: STAFFORD
In this boundary line dispute, Plaintiff-Appellant argues that the trial court erred by relying on the survey of Defendant-Appellee's expert and not on the surveys proffered by Plaintiff-Appellant's experts in determining the boundary. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court's decision. Consequently, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/dillehayg_061711.pdf
MISTY JANE BRUNELLE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Brent M. Hensley, Greeneville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Misty Jane Brunelle.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; John H. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; C. Berkeley Bell, Jr., District Attorney General; and Cecil Clayton Mills, Jr.,
Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: OGLE
The petitioner, Misty Jane Brunelle, appeals the post-
conviction court's denial of her petition for post-conviction relief from her convictions for three counts of aggravated child abuse and resulting effective sentence of twenty-five years to be served at one hundred percent. On appeal, she contends that (1) she received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal; (2) the post-conviction court erred by denying her motion for further genetic testing
on the victim; and (3) the post-conviction court erred by determining that newly discovered evidence does not exist in this case. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the
parties' briefs, we affirm the post-conviction court's ruling that the petitioner did not receive the ineffective assistance of counsel and the post-conviction court's denial of the motion for additional genetic testing. However, the court's determination that newly discovered evidence does not exist in this case is reversed because that issue should have been raised in a petition for writ of error coram nobis.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/brunellem_061711.pdf
|
|
 |
|
| TODAY'S NEWS |
|
Legal News
TBA Member Services
|
| Legal News |
| State, Baumgartner don't care if records unsealed |
| The state's special prosecutor in the case against former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner said Thursday that he does not endorse or oppose efforts by the News Sentinel to unseal certain records in the case.
"The state is taking no position, because we have no interest in whether the records are unsealed or not," Al Schmutzer Jr. said. Baumgartner also has no objections to the records being opened, according to his lawyer, Don Bosch. |
The News Sentinel has more
|
| Supreme Court OK's DNA test after 30 years in prison |
| A Memphis man who has served 30 years for two rapes he says he never committed has the right to DNA testing according to a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday. Rudolph Powers, who claimed that he was misidentified by the victims, was tried separately for each rape, but the court ruled that the similarities between the two crimes made it a signature crime and allowed both victims to identify him in each trial. He was convicted in both cases and sentenced to life in prison.
The Innocence Project petitioned for DNA testing under the state law. |
The Tennessean reports
|
| Editorial: Court is right to hear paternity fraud case |
| The Tennessee Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case to determine if a man can be legally compelled to support a child fathered by someone else.
The case involves a Maury County man who says he was duped into supporting a child that subsequent DNA testing established was not his own.
In an editorial, the Times News says "it's about time." |
The TimesNews.net has the story
|
| Assistant AG moves to Gullett, Sanford |
| Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin has hired
Matt Haskell from the Tennessee Attorney General's office, adding to the firm's group of litigation lawyers.
Haskell had worked as an assistant attorney general in the criminal justice division for the past three years. |
NashvillePost.com has more
|
| Editorial: States need to strengthen recusal rules |
| In an editorial, The New York Times writes that
"the ruling in Caperton v. Massey drove home the need for states to adopt more rigorous rules for recusal," but that states are not getting the message.
Courts in nine states have made recusal mandatory when contributions by a party or attorney exceed a certain threshold amount or create a question about the judge's impartiality.
Courts in two other states are considering similar proposals. ""But several other states have rejected stronger rules," the Times writes, "or have actually weakened them." In what the paper calls "an encouraging step," it says
the American Bar Association will take up the issue at the August meeting of the association's House of Delegates. |
Read the editorial
|
| LawyerUp promises you a lawyer within 15 minutes |
| A new company, LawyerUp, started full operations this month in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The company promises to get a criminal lawyer on a case within 15 minutes.
The service's personal plan, aimed at young people, costs $4.95 a month. Those who do not have a subscription can pay a flat fee of $100 for the first call, which the company calls its "pay-in-a-pinch plan."
|
The New York Times reports
|
| Small firm attorney makes a big impact in Chattanooga |
| Chattanooga lawyer Richard Buhrman, whose practice focuses on taxation, estate planning, probate and corporate and commercial matters, is profiled in the Hamilton County Herald today.
"I started out at a big law factory, but then decided my freedom and my ability to control my life and my practice were more important to me than a big salary," he says. Buhrman recently was given the Chattanooga Bar Association's Humanitarian Award.
|
Read the story
|
| Editorial: Best help would be to stop abusers first |
| In an editorial, the Commercial Appeal praises the recent opening of the Family Safety Center, and the approval by the County Commission for funding for two victim/witness coordinators to help the DA's office handle the increased volume of domestic violence cases. The paper notes, however, that the "best to way get a handle on the problem, of course, is to find ways to stop abusers from becoming abusers." |
Read the editorial
|
| Eric Holder defends terror trials in civilian court |
| Attorney General Eric Holder is defending the prosecution of terrorism suspects in civilian court after criticism from the top-ranking Republican in the Senate.
Holder said in a speech Thursday night for the American Constitution Society that politics has no place in deciding how to prosecute criminals, including terrorists. |
NewsChannel5 carried this AP story
|
| TBA Member Services |
| Secure, compliant data backup now available |
| The TBA's official data protection, backup and recovery vendor of choice, i365, offers secure online backup solutions. i365 minimizes downtime by backing up files quickly and easily, and helps lawyers remain compliant by maintaining file integrity. Get i365 and be confident your data is securely stored and protected. TBA members enjoy a 10 percent savings on all services. For more information on this member benefit Denise Lucas at (407) 523-9774. |
Learn why lawyers trust i365 for online data backup solutions
|
| |
|
| |
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
|
|
|
