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| Monday, June 20, 2011 |
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Court: Public lawyers not required in civil cases
A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court today refused to require states to provide lawyers for poor people in civil cases involving incarceration but did order state officials to ensure that hearings are "fundamentally fair" to the person facing possible detention. The justices voted 5-4 along ideological lines to uphold the appeal of Michael Turner, a South Carolina man sent to jail for up to 12 months after he insisted he could not afford his child support payments. Turner had no lawyer, and claimed all people facing jail time have a constitutional right to an attorney.
TriCities.com has the AP story
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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.
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SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS Grants & Denials List
Court: TSC
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/certlist_062011.pdf
HEATHER R. GUNTER FREELS V. DEREK C. FREELS
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Derek C. Freels, Sunbright, Tennessee, appellant, Pro Se.
James W. Brooks, Jr., Wartburg, Tennessee, for the appellee, Heather R. Gunter Freels.
Judge: PER CURIAM
This is a divorce case. The appellant, Derek C. Freels, seeks to appeal from an order of the trial court entered February 22, 2011. That order is not final, and, hence, is not appealable
as of right. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/freelsh_062011
IN THE MATTER OF: SHANIRA J., CHRISTINA J., AND JAMES J.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Andrew L. Wener, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Shameka Fox
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter, Dianne Stamey Dycus, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tennessee Department of
Children's Services
Judge: PER CURIAM
This is an appeal of a dependency and neglect proceeding. We dismiss the appeal for lack of a final judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/shaniraj_062011.pdf
SUSAN LYNN (MERY) STANSBERRY, v. MICHAEL JAMES MERY
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Wayne R. Stambaugh, Morristown, Tennessee, for the appellant, Michael James Mery.
Edward R. Sempkowski, Morristown, Tennessee, for the appellee, Susan Lynn (Mery) Stansberry.
Judge: FRANKS
In the parties' divorce in 2000, they agreed to a joint custody arrangement of their two minor children. This action was triggered in 2008 when the father advised the mother he intended to move to North Carolina and take the children with him. In the action brought by the mother, she asked to be designated the primary caregiver and custody of the children to remain in Hamblen County. Following a protracted evidentiary hearing, the Trial Court denied the father's request to give him custody and take the children to North Carolina, but awarded custody of the children to the mother with visitation to the father. The father has appealed, and we affirm the Judgment of the Trial Court and remand.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/stansberrys_062011.pdf
EARL THACKER, et al., v. SHAPIRO & KIRSCH, LLP., PAUL ABRAHAM AND THE KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Richard L. Hollow and David C. Hollow, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Paul Abraham and the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Richard K. Evans, Kingston, Tennessee, for the appellees, Earl Thacker and wife, Irinia Thacker.
Judge: FRANKS
In this action the plaintiffs sued the substitute trustee who conducted a foreclosure sale, alleging that notice of foreclosure, as required by the Statute, had to be published in a newspaper located in the county where the land was located. The Knoxville News Sentinel intervened in the case since it had published the foreclosure notice, but the Trial Judge, responding to a motion for summary judgment, held that the Knoxville News Sentinel did not have a nexus to Roane County and that a proper notice would have been required to be placed in the Roane County newspaper. The Knoxville News Sentinel appealed, and on appeal we reverse the Judgment of the Trial Court and hold that the statutorily required notice was properly placed in the Knoxville News Sentinel.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/thackere_062011.pdf
DEVON M. CRAWFORD v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Paul K. Guibao, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Devon M. Crawford.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Leslie E. Price, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; Stephanie Zander Johnson,
Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
The Petitioner, Devon M. Crawford, pled guilty to first degree felony murder, and the trial court sentenced him to a life sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The
Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief requesting DNA analysis of unspecified evidence collected by police in his case, which the post-conviction court denied. On appeal,
the Petitioner contends that he is entitled to DNA testing under the Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act of 2001 and that the post-conviction court erred when it dismissed his petition.
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/crawfordd_062011.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
General Assembly News
U.S. Supreme Court
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Lebanon attorney Hatton dies in plane crash |
| Lebanon attorney Robert Tim Hatton died with two others -- Tara Whitacre and her 4-year-old daughter -- after a plane crash on Saturday as they were on their way to Florida for vacation. Hatton, who was the pilot, was 52. There was one survivor, Whitacre's 7-year-old son. Whitacre is listed as Hatton's legal assistant on the firm website. The National Transportation Safety Board Air Safety is investigating. Arrangements are incomplete. |
NewsChannel5 reports
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| Staubus is new Sullivan County D.A. |
| Gov. Bill Haslam announced today that Barry Staubus will replace the retiring Greeley Wells as Sullivan County District Attorney. Staubus has worked in the Sullivan County District Attorney's office since 1994, serving as deputy district attorney since 2002. |
Learn more from the Times News
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| Moncier says he may give up license voluntarily |
| Knoxville lawyer Herbert S. Moncier said Friday he will voluntarily givie up his law license if he cannot get a federal court to overturn the recent suspension by the state Board of Professional Responsibility.
"I am not going to be a hypocrite about this," Moncier said. "The board made a mistake that their prosecutor refuses to correct, and now the (state) Supreme Court refuses to hear me. I did not do what they are punishing me for, and they know it." |
The News Sentinel has more
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| Editorial: Why paper wants Baumgartner records |
| In an editorial, the editor of the News Sentinel explains why the paper has sued for the right to see documents that have been sealed in a case involving former Judge Richard Baumgartner.
"Faith in our system of government, especially in the judiciary," he writes, "rests on the belief that all citizens receive equal treatment under the law. Secrecy, even if well-intentioned, undermines that faith." |
Read the editorial
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| Group features historic Ed Johnson story |
| The 3rd Annual Convention of the Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers last week included a panel discussion and viewing of the documentary, "I Am A Innocent Man: The Ed Johnson Story." The documentary presents the case of Ed Johnson, a young black man accused of raping a white woman in 1906 in Chattanooga. It was the first time black lawyers took a case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Further, it was the first and only time that the court has ordered the arrest of the parties before it, charged the parties with criminal contempt of court, and held a criminal trial with the justices sitting as jurors.
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Chattanooga.com has the story
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| Lawyer remains civil while defending religious causes |
| Brentwood lawyer Larry Crain and his team of four young lawyers at the American Center for Law and Justice defend clients across the country who feel their religious rights are being trampled. It's big business, with a budget of nearly $60 million, but Crain handles his cases with civility, according to adversaries.
"Although [we] are frequently on opposite sides of an issue, I respect the professionalism with which Larry pursues his cause," says Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. Barry Stevenson, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida, calls Crain "a gentleman lawyer." |
Read a profile of Cain in the Tennessean
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| Juror meets defendant on Facebook, derails trial |
| A juror who contacted a defendant through the Facebook social networking website, causing a major trial to collapse, was jailed for eight months last week in a British legal first. The woman admitted at London's High Court to using Facebook to exchange messages with a female defendant. She also admitted conducting an internet search of the defendant's boyfriend, a co-defendant, while the jury was still deliberating. Taxpayers were left picking up a bill of $10 million after the judge was forced to discharge the jury when the defendant told her lawyer about the juror's actions. |
NewsChannel3 carried this Reuters story
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| General Assembly News |
| Legislators lose points from public this session |
| The 107th Tennessee General Assembly, marked by debate on a number of controversial issues, slipped in its approval rating in the four months it was in session, according to a newly released Vanderbilt University poll. From January to June, the legislature's approval dropped 20 percentage points. Bills approved by the body that did not fare well among the public were measures ending teachers' collective bargaining, increasing tenure requirements, blocking wine sales in grocery stores, and capping the amount juries can award in malpractice cases. |
Get more details from Vanderbilt
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| U.S. Supreme Court |
| Wal-Mart suit cannot go forward as class action |
| The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cannot proceed as a class action, reversing a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The high court agreed with Wal-Mart that having to defend the treatment of female employees, regardless of their jobs or where they work, is unfair. The lawsuit could have involved up to 1.6 million women and billions of dollars in damages. |
The Leaf-Chronicle carried this AP story
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| TBA Member Services |
| Program offers savings on auto insurance |
| See how being a member of the TBA could help you save 8 percent on car insurance. GEICO offers 24-hour sales, service and claims. Call GEICO at (800) 368-2734
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or get an online rate quote
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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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