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| Tuesday, August 09, 2011 |
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Bill Robinson new ABA president, Laurel Bellows next
In his inaugural speech Monday, new American Bar Association President William T. (Bill) Robinson III emphasized that the ABA will continue to advocate for adequate funding for the state courts. Robinson praised the Task Force on Preservation of Justice for its work so far and renewed the ABA's commitment to continue addressing the issue. The task force was initiated by his predecessor Stephen N. Zack, who introduced Robinson to the House of Delegates as his last official act as outgoing president. Robinson, a partner with Frost Brown Todd in its Florence, Ky., office, is also a Tennessee lawyer and TBA member.
Chicago lawyer Laurel Bellows was voted in today as the ABA president-elect at the annual meeting. She will serve a one-year term before becoming ABA president in August 2012.
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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
05 - 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
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FEDERATED RURAL ELECTRIC INSURANCE EXCHANGE, ET AL. v. WILLIAM R. HILL, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Clifford E.Wilson, Madisonville, Tennessee, for the appellant, William R. Hill.
W. Stuart Scott, Kerry M. Ewald, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange, et al.
Judge: HIGHERS
Defendant allegedly suffered an on-the-job injury to his knees over the course of several years, and Plaintiffs paid workers' compensation benefits on his behalf. However, after Defendant was videotaped building a barn, his employment was terminated and suit was filed against him for fraud. Defendant then filed a counter-complaint alleging, among other things, retaliatory discharge. The trial court granted Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment with regard to the retaliatory discharge claim, and we affirm and remand.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/federated_080911.pdf
JARED AJANI LIMA v. MARCIA GABRIEL LIMA
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
G. Michael Casey, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jared Ajani Lima.
No appearance on behalf of the appellee, Marcia Gabriel Lima.
Judge: HIGHERS
This appeal involves parental relocation. Mother intended to relocate from Tennessee to Las Vegas with the parties' two children in order to accept another position with her current
employer. Father filed a petition opposing the relocation and seeking modification of the parenting plan to be named primary residential parent. The trial court found that the parties were not spending substantially equal intervals of time with the children, and that the move had a reasonable purpose. Therefore, it permitted Mother to relocate with the children pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-6-108. Father raises numerous issues on appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/limaj_080911.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BETHANY JADE ABEL
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
John S. Colley, III, Columbia, Tennessee, for the appellant, Bethany Jade Abel.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Meredith Devault, Assistant Attorney General; Kim R. Helper, District Attorney General; and Kate Yeager, Assistant District
Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: THOMAS
A Hickman County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant, Bethany Jade Abel, for attempted first degree murder, a Class A felony. The Defendant pled guilty to aggravated assault, a
Class C felony, with the length and manner of service for her sentence left to the discretion of the trial court. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to 3 years in the Tennessee
Department of Correction, suspended to supervised probation following the service of 14 days in the county jail. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court
erred in denying her application for judicial diversion. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/abelb_080911.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. STEPHEN DAVIS
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
James E. Thomas (on appeal), and John Candy and Louis Chiozza (at trial), Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Stephen Davis.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Rachel E. Willis, Senior Counsel; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Anita Spinetta, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WILLIAMS
The defendant, Stephen Davis, a pharmacist at Rite Aid, was convicted of one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud (a Class D felony) after he filled several suspicious prescriptions for Hydrocodone (a Schedule III controlled substance). The trial court imposed a two-year suspended sentence. On appeal, the defendant claims that the
evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred by denying his motion for a mistrial and by failing to place him on judicial diversion. After carefully
reviewing the record and the arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/daviss_080911.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. KEITH A. HOWARD
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Daniel D. Warlick, Nashville, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant; Keith A. Howard, pro se (on appeal).
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General; Lawrence Ray Whitley, District Attorney General; and Thomas Dean, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
A Sumner County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Keith A. Howard, of one count of forgery, see T.C.A. section 39-14-114 (2006), and one count of attempting to evade sales tax, see id. section 67-1-1440(g), and the trial court imposed consecutive sentences of six years'
incarceration as a Range III, persistent offender. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury and admission of evidence, that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, and that the trial court erred by sentencing the defendant as a persistent offender and by imposing consecutive sentences. Because the defendant failed to file a timely motion for new trial, all issues except the sufficiency of the evidence and sentencing are waived. Discerning no error in those remaining issues, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/howardk_080911.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHRISTOPHER LOCKE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
J. Liddell Kirk, Knoxville, Tennessee; Raymond Mack, District Public Defender; and Tiffany L. Deaderick, Assistant Public Defender, for the appellant, Christopher Locke.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Lacy Wilber, Assistant Attorney General; Michael L. Flynn, District Attorney General; and Tammy Harrington, Assistant
District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WILLIAMS
The defendant, Christopher Locke, pled guilty to one count of incest, a Class C felony. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed a Range I sentence of three years, all
suspended upon compliance with the terms of probation and sex offender supervision. On appeal he argues that the trial court erred in denying judicial diversion. After reviewing
the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/lockec_080911.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BOBBY ALLEN MORTON
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Trent J. Theriac (on appeal and at trial); and James Powell (at trial), Union City, Tennessee, for the appellant, Bobby Allen Morton.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Clarence E. Lutz, Assistant Attorney General; Thomas A. Thomas, District Attorney General; and Heard B. Critchlow, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: GLENN
The defendant, Bobby Allen Morton, was convicted by an Obion County jury of theft of property over $1000, a Class D felony, and was sentenced by the trial court as a Range I
offender to four years in the Department of Correction. In a timely appeal to this court, he argues that the trial court abused its discretion by not declaring a mistrial after the prosecutor mistakenly introduced evidence of stolen items that did not form the basis for the theft charge against him. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/mortonb_080911.pdf
IN RE: BRIAN WADE LYNN, BPR 016796
Court: TSC-Disciplinary_Order
Judge: CLARK
Reinstatement
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/lynnb_080911.pdf
WILLIAM T. WINCHESTER, BPR 021282
Court: TSC-Disciplinary_Order
Judge: CLARK
Suspension
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/winchesterw_080911.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Passages
Legal News
Disciplinary Actions
TBA Member Services
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| Passages |
| Services set for Judge Cannon |
| Retired Washington County General Sessions Court Judge Stewart "Buddy" Cannon died Aug. 8 at age 84.
He retired in 1998 after serving 28 years on the bench. In an editorial, the Johnson City Press called him "a true gentleman, an accomplished pianist, a fair jurist and good friend to all who knew him."
The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at Central Baptist Church, followed by
funeral services at 7:30 p.m.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Aug. 12, in the Monte Vista Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to Central Baptist Church Music Department, 300 North Roan St., Johnson City 37601; or the Johnson City Community Theatre, 600 East Main St., Johnson City 37601. |
Read Judge Cannon's obituary
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| Legal News |
| CLE compliance deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 10 |
| If you have not yet completed your 2010 continuing legal education requirements, filed your Affidavit of Completion and paid all fees by Aug. 10, you will be included on a draft suspension order submitted to the Supreme Court by the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.
You can still get your hours, though, with TBA's TennBarU, which has plenty of options. Just go to the TennBarU Course Catalog to choose from more than 300 courses available in video, text or educational game formats that you can take anytime from your computer.
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Check out CLE offerings here
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| Max Bahner honored with ABA award |
| Chattanooga lawyer T. Maxfield Bahner received the ABA Senior Lawyers
Division's John H. Pickering Award at a dinner and ceremony Aug. 4 at the
group's annual meeting in Toronto. Bahner, a former Tennessee Bar Association president and the senior member of the
litigation section at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC, was honored for his
outstanding legal ability, service to his profession and community, and
commitment to improving access to justice for all. This is the second year
in a row that a Tennessee lawyer has received the award. Last year, the
division recognized Memphis lawyer S. Shepherd Tate.
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Read more about the award
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| Gentry gets vast support in NBA poll for clerk job |
| Howard Gentry Jr. received 69.9 percent of "highly recommend" and "recommend" votes in the Nashville Bar Association's candidate evaluation for Criminal Court clerk.
Half of the 508 respondents gave Michael Craddock a "do not recommend" vote. Other candidates in the survey were Gayle S. Barbee, Frank G. Friedman and Steven R. Murff.
The race is to replace David Torrence, who left office July 15 after an investigation found he used his county-issued car for personal reasons and also hired his two sons for jobs within his office without advertising the positions.
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Download the results
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| Editorial: Legal community supports drug court |
| In an editorial today, the Mountain Press responds to a story about a commissioner who said there was not enough support in the legal community to spend $50,000 for a drug court in Sevier County.
"We don't know who [Commissioner Ben Clabo has] talked to, but it wasn't judges, the DA and other court personnel. Circuit Judge Duane Slone, who spearheaded the program, can point to backing from Circuit Judges Rex Ogle and Ben Hooper, Public Defender Ed Miller and District Attorney Jimmy Dunn, among others," the paper writes. The money is a "small investment if it saves people from jail and allows them to beat their addiction. It has wide support. Commissioner Clabo should either produce his dissenters or back off."
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Read the editorial
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| Metro tries to stop satellite city from forming court |
| Nashville's Metro Department of Law filed a complaint against the City of Forest Hills on Monday, because of the affluent satellite city's plan to launch its own municipal court. Forest Hills attorney Matt Foster called the action "very disappointing." He said "all Forest Hills wants to do is enforce its own ordinances." |
The Tennessean has the story
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| Judge Soloman's family law caseload may shrink |
| Joe P. Binkley Jr., presiding judge of Davidson County trial courts, said Judge Carol Soloman may no longer hear domestic relations cases for health reasons. In addition, court administrator Tim Townsend reportedly hopes to gather judges for a meeting this week or next to remove the cloud of uncertainty that has settled over the handling of divorces and other family law matters in recent weeks. |
The Tennesseean reports
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| Eisenstein, Channel 5 libel case may change venue |
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When Circuit Judge Hamilton V. Gayden recused himself from hearing the libel case between General Sessions Judge Daniel Eisenstein and NewsChannel5, the case needed to be reassigned. But it may not be possible to get an impartial hearing nearby.
Trial Courts Administrator Tim Townsend said judges in surrounding counties will be asked if they can accept the case, and if not, the Administrative Office of the Courts will be asked to assign a senior judge or send the case farther afield. |
The Tennessean has the story
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| O'Connor, others, talk about court funding |
| A panel including retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor discussed court funding with a packed room of lawyers and judges at a program at the American Bar Association's Annual Meeting Monday in Toronto.
Ways they suggested to solve the current crisis in court funding included one-on-one contact with
legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle, especially by general counsel of corporations; targeting contributors of legislative campaigns; improving adult education about the value of courts; and doing commercial ads demonstrating the devastation of the lack of funding. |
The ABA has more
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| Disciplinary Actions |
| Lawyer reinstated |
| Brian Wade Lynn, who voluntarily assumed inactive status in 2002, was reinstated to the practice of law on Aug. 5 by the Tennessee Supreme Court. |
Download the court's order
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| Memphis lawyer suspended |
| On Aug. 5, Shelby County lawyer William T. Winchester was suspended for two years pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 4.2. The court also required him to pay the cost of his disciplinary proceeding. |
Download the court's order
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| 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
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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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