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| Tuesday, August 02, 2011 |
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'Volunteer Attorney' full of good pro bono ideas
In the new issue of The Tennessee Volunteer Attorney you will find news from across the state about the pro bono and legal aid work being done by you and your colleagues in the bar. You'll want to read details about the new Memphis/Shelby County Reentry Resource Guide, an easy-to-use book to help ex-offenders who are making
the transition from incarceration to the community, produced by a group from the Memphis Bar Association's Leadership Forum. The Volunteer Attorney also has information on submitting a nomination for the Tennessee Bar Association Public Service Awards (deadline is Aug. 15), the new OnlineTNJustice.org website and more.
Download the Tennessee Volunteer Attorney
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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
07 - 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.
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DAVEY MANN, and wife, TERESA MANN v. ALPHA TAU OMEGA FRATERNITY, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Herschel L. Rosenberg, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Davey Mann and wife, Teresa Mann.
Scott C. Campbell, Joseph L. Broy, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellees, Nicholas Beaver and Zachary Beaver.
Darryl D. Gresham, Harry W. Lebair, IV, Memphis, TN, for the appellee, E. J. Cox.
Russell C. Rutledge, Germantown, TN, for the appellees, Daniel Kelly and John Condon, III.
Judge: HIGHERS
Plaintiffs sued Defendants in an amended complaint following the expiration of the statute of limitations. Defendants moved for summary judgment/judgment on the pleadings based on the expiration of the statute of limitations. Subsequently, co-defendants alleged Defendants' comparative fault in an amended answer. Defendants' motions for summary
judgment and for judgment on the pleadings were granted, but were not made final. Based on co-defendants' answer, Plaintiffs again amended their complaint to name Defendants
pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 20-1-119. However, Defendants claimed that section 20-1-119 could not be utilized as they were already parties to the lawsuit, and they moved for summary judgment and to dismiss. The trial court granted said motions, and we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/mannd_080211.pdf
JEREMY MILLER v. JESSICA MILLER (TOLBE)
CORRECTION on page 13, within the second to last paragraph, first sentence, Tenn. Code Ann. "36-6-113(c)" has been changed to "36-6-113(e)"
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Benjamin K. Dean, Clarksville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jessica Miller (Tolbe).
John Terrance Maher, Clarksville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Jeremy Miller.
Judge: COTTRELL
A Colorado court granted a divorce to married parents who were both active-duty members of the armed forces. The court named the mother as the primary residential parent of their two minor children, and a parenting plan with flexible provisions was fashioned in the event of overseas deployment by one or both parents. Both parties were deployed overseas at various times during the next five years. The children spent the majority of that time in the care of the father, or, during father's deployments, in the care of his mother or his new wife. The father moved to Clarksville, Tennessee in April of 2007, and after living there with the children for eighteen consecutive months, he filed a petition in the Tennessee court for registration of the Colorado judgment and modification of the parenting plan. He asked the court to name him as the children's primary residential parent. After a hearing, the trial court granted the father's petition. The mother argues on appeal that the trial court erred in finding
that there had been a material change of circumstances which was unanticipated at the time of the divorce, and she contends that the father had therefore failed to meet the statutory threshold before a change in a parenting plan may be ordered under Tennessee law. See Tenn. Code Ann. section 36-6-101(a)(2)(B). She also argues that Tenn. Code Ann. section 36-6-113 limits the authority of the trial court to permanently modify the custody and visitation arrangements for the children of a mobilized parent. We affirm the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/millerj_COR_080211.pdf
LASHAWN BELL v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Lance R. Chism, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Lashawn Bell.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Clarence E. Lutz, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Nicole Germain, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
The Petitioner, Lashawn Bell, pled guilty to one count of especially aggravated robbery, nine counts of aggravated robbery, and three counts of criminal attempt to commit aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of thirty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner contends he did not knowingly and voluntarily plead guilty. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/belll_080211.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHRISTOPHER RODNEY BUTLER
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Joseph Taggart, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Christopher Rodney Butler.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Rachel E. Willis, Assistant Attorney General; James G. Woodall, District Attorney General; and Rolf Hazlehurst, Assistant
District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: OGLE
A Madison County Circuit Court jury convicted the appellant of solicitation of a minor to commit rape of a child, a Class B felony; driving under the influence (DUI), fourth offense,
a Class E felony; and indecent exposure, a Class B misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced him to concurrent sentences of ten years, two years, and six months, respectively. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the solicitation of a minor
conviction. Based upon the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/butlerc_080211.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BORIS DARRELL FRY
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Richard W. DeBerry, Camden, Tennessee, for the appellant, Boris Darrell Fry.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Rachel E. Willis, Senior Counsel; Hansel J. McCadams, District Attorney General; and Ed N. McDaniel, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: OGLE
A Hardin County Circuit Court Jury convicted the appellant, Boris Darrell Fry, of selling .5 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine. The trial court sentenced the appellant as
a standard, Range I offender to eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction and that the trial court erred in denying him probation. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/fryb_080211.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. OSAYAMIEN OGBEIWI
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Michael E. Scholl, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Osayamien Ogbeiwi.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; David H. Findley, Senior Counsel; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Glen Baity and Doug Carriker, Assistant
District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: GLENN
The defendant, Osayamien Ogbeiwi, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of first degree premeditated murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, he argues that: (1) the trial court erred in denying his request for a continuance so he could
obtain a mental evaluation; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress; (3) the trial court erred in denying his objections concerning the admission of the store surveillance video; (4) the trial court erred in not requiring the State to develop legally sufficient corpus proof; (5) the trial court erred in overruling his objections to the State's closing argument; (6) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (7) the trial court erred in charging the jury that it must first acquit the defendant before considering lesser offenses; and (8) the trial court erred in charging the jury with an inconsistent verdict form. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/ogbeiwio_080211.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MARIET L. PATRICK
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Noel H. Riley, II, Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Mariet L. Patrick.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Rachel E. Willis, Senior Counsel; C. Phillip Bivens, District Attorney General; and Lance E. Webb, Assistant District Attorney
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: THOMAS
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Mariet L. Patrick, was convicted of evading arrest in a motor vehicle, a Class E felony, possession of .5 ounces or more of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, a Class E felony, and possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, a Class B felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. sections 39-16-503, -17-417. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence discovered during a traffic stop and (2) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/patrickm_080211.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOSEPH STEELE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Cameron L. Hyder, Assistant Attorney General; Hansel J. McCadams, District Attorney General; Eddie N. McDaniel, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellant, State of Tennessee.
Ryan B. Feeney, Selmer, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Joseph Steele.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
A Hardin County grand jury indicted the Defendant, Joseph Steele, for rape of a child less than thirteen years of age. The Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment because
the State had allegedly lost or destroyed a videotape of the victim's interview with Michigan Children's Services. After a hearing, the trial court dismissed the indictment, and the State now appeals the trial court's dismissal of the indictment. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we conclude that the trial court erred when it dismissed the Defendant's indictment without discussing the relevant factors required by State v. Ferguson,
2 S.W.3d 912 (Tenn. 1999). We, therefore, reverse and remand to the trial court to reconsider and make findings of fact regarding whether dismissal of the Defendant's
indictment is appropriate in light of Ferguson.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/steelej_080211.pdf
TRAVIS WARD v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Melody M. Oliver, Ellendale, Tennessee, for the appellant, Travis Ward.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; David H. Findley, Senior Counsel; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Kevin Rardin, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: GLENN
The petitioner, Travis Ward, appeals the post-conviction court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and entered an unknowing and involuntary guilty plea. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/wardt_080211.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Upcoming
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Editorial: Paper has right, responsibility to inform |
| In an editorial, the Johnson City Press defends its pre-trial coverage of a couple accused in their daughter's death after Criminal Court Judge Robert Cupp criticized the paper in court for the coverage.
The defense filed a motion to delay the case because of similarities to the Casey Anthony case in Florida.
The paper writes that the press has
"a special responsibility to inform the public when people are to stand trial. We not only have a right to do so under the First Amendment, but we have an ethical responsibility to do so."
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Read the editorial
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| Turf battle erupts between ABA, NALP over jobs data |
| Last week, the executive committee of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar decided to require law schools to report directly to the ABA far more detailed information about the jobs and salaries their graduates land. With that move, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) was essentially cut out of the reporting process, which has spawned what looks like a classic turf battle. In fact, NALP is hinting at suing the ABA over it. |
Get the scoop from the National Law Journal
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| Changes may be on tap for Davidson divorce court |
| Possible changes for domestic court in Nashville are on the horizon. Under discussion is a plan to spread out the 300 or so divorce cases per month among all eight circuit judges instead of just the two who handle them now. Also, nearly a thousand additional order of protection hearings will need to be assigned. The 20th Judicial District's trial court administrator Tim Townsend says "the presiding judge and the civil court judges will have to decide how to absorb this increased caseload." |
WSMV has this story
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| Why police can't call the (camera) shots |
| Last week when a freelance cameraman with news credentials was arrested by police in Suffolk County, Long Island, the video
of an officer telling the journalist to "go away" and his subsequent arrest, was viewed by about 40,000 people on YouTube.
Under the First Amendment, both the press and public have a right to monitor and speak out about the performance of public officials, and new technology has
increased this watchdog role.
News-media attorney Richard Goehler offers advice on what's acceptable and what's not. |
The First Amendment Center has this analysis
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| Judge Sword sworn in |
| Steve Sword, 41, was sworn into office as Criminal Court judge in a brief ceremony on Monday. A veteran Knox County prosecutor, Sword was tapped earlier this month by Gov. Bill Haslam to take over a judgeship left vacant when former Judge Richard Baumgartner resigned. |
See pictures in the News Sentinel
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| West Tennessee courthouse site of reality TV show |
| The courthouse in Humboldt was the scene last weekend for the filming of a reality-based television series called "The Verdict." The premise of the show involves a re-enactment by actors of an actual court case in front of a jury that has no knowledge of the real outcome. The jury then is asked to determine if they support the defendant or plaintiff. |
The Jackson Sun has more
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| Child advocate, mediator works for solutions |
| A native Memphian with an extensive career in social work, Barbara Nixon is a licensed clinical social worker and Tennessee Supreme Court-certified family and civil mediator. |
The Commercial Appeal profiles her work
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| 'Stringbean' killer will stay in prison |
| The man who killed Opry legend Dave "Stringbean" Akeman and his wife nearly 40 years ago has been turned down a fourth time for parole. The case of convicted killer John A. Brown will come before the seven-member board again in April 2014. |
Read the Tennessesan story
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| Land dispute impacts eminent domain cases |
| In the battle of land for Nashville's new convention center, the recusal of Judge Barbara Haynes seems to have been crucial. That, and a couple of Californians who
have had a hand in changing the way eminent-domain cases are handled in Davidson County. |
NashvillePost.com has more
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| Upcoming |
| Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative gala set |
| The 6th Annual Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative Gala will be in Nashville on March 24, 2012. Corporations and corporate counsel can help make a significant difference for the more than one million Tennesseans who have incomes below 125 percent of the federal poverty level. Learn about special pro bono opportunities for corporate counsel and how to help raise money to facilitate the development of new pro bono projects for in-house corporate counsel and their outside counsel around the state by visiting the Pro Bono Initiative Gala webpage. |
Learn more here
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| TBA Member Services |
| CompuPay offers deals for TBA members |
| CompuPay is proud to serve as the official payroll services provider for the Tennessee Bar Association. To serve Tennessee attorneys the company is offering two months of free payroll processing for all TBA members and waiving set up fees for members with up to 99 employees. |
Learn more about CompuPay's benefits
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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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