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| Wednesday, October 19, 2011 |
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'Faux-federal' plan not the answer, Van Horn says
A proposal that would replace Tennessee's method for selecting appellate and Supreme Court justices with a "faux-federal" plan would increase the influence of campaign money and politics, TBA President Danny Van Horn said in a statement today. "One only has to look at the federal system to see the political squabbling and petty bickering which enter into the confirmation process for federal judges, to see the disadvantage of a confirmation process like this," Van Horn said. The proposal from State Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, calls for the Tennessee Constitution to be amended to allow the governor to appoint appellate court judges in a manner similar to federal judges, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Read Van Horn's full statement
The Tennessean has more on the 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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SHANNON MAJORS v. RANDSTAD INHOUSE SERVICES, L.P. ET AL.
Court: TWCA
Attorneys:
Cole B. Stinson, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Randstad Inhouse Services, L.P. and Indemnity Insurance of North America.
Russell D. Hedges, Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the appellee, Shannon Majors.
Judge: ANDERSON
Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51, this workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employee was operating a torque gun which jerked and twisted her right hand while at work. She contended that her injury extended into her arm. Her employer agreed the injury was compensable but argued that the injury was limited to her index finger. The trial court found the injury was to the arm and awarded 70% permanent partial disability to that member. On appeal, her employer argues that the trial
court erred by apportioning the award to the arm, that the amount of the award is excessive, and that the trial court erred by awarding certain discretionary costs. We affirm the
judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/2011/majorss_101911.pdf
DICK BROADCASTING CO., INC. OF TENNESSEE v. OAK RIDGE FM, INC., ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
John A. Day, Brandon E. Bass, and Burke Keaty, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellant,Dick Broadcasting Co., Inc. of Tennessee.
Robert S. Stone, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Oak Ridge FM, Inc. and ComCon Consultants.
John A. Lucas, Alcoa, Tennessee, for the appellee, John W. Pirkle.
Judge: MCCLARTY
The plaintiff filed suit against the defendants for causes of action sounding in contract after the defendants refused to consent to the assignment of certain agreements relating to the programming of a radio station. The parties filed competing summary judgment motions. The trial court dismissed the case, finding as a matter of law that the defendants did not breach one of the contracts at issue. The plaintiff appealed. We reverse the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/dickbroadcasting_101911.pdf
JAMES W. SHARP, v. GREG WILSON, et al.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
James W. Sharp, Pikeville, Tennessee, pro se.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter, Joseph F. Whalen, Associate Solicitor General, and Lee Pope, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees.
Judge: FRANKS
Essentially, plaintiff's Complaint sets forth numerous refusals by the prison in denying him appropriate and proper medical treatment for his conditions. In their Answer, defendants
denied the Complaint's allegations and subsequently moved for summary judgment, which the Trial Court granted. On appeal, we hold there are disputed issues of material facts and the summary judgment is reversed, as to the health administrator and the nurse practitioner. The summary judgment granted to the Warden of the Southeastern Tennessee State Correctional Facility is affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/sharpj_101911.pdf
TIMOTHY ROBERSON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Timothy Roberson, Pro Se, Nashville, Tennessee.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson, III, District Attorney General; Bret Gunn, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
In 1995, a Gibson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Timothy Roberson, of first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus fifteen years. The Petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus relief, his second such petition, alleging that his conviction is void. The habeas corpus court summarily dismissed the petition for failure to state a cognizable claim, and the Petitioner filed a timely notice of appeal. On appeal, he contends: (1) the jury found him guilty of felony murder without first determining whether he had the intent to commit the predicate felony of robbery; (2) the indictment for felony murder failed to allege facts that constitute an offense; (3) the trial court lacked jurisdiction to convict because both convictions were based on one criminal episode, violating double jeopardy; (4) the trial court failed to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offenses of reckless homicide and criminally negligent homicide; and (5) during sentencing, the trial court improperly instructed the jury that torture is an aggravating factor. Upon a review of the record in this case, we are
persuaded that the habeas corpus court properly dismissed the petition for habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, the judgment of the habeas corpus court is affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/robersont_101911.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TAMMY THOMPSON
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Sam Patterson, Columbia, Tennessee (at trial) and John E. Herbison, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal), for the appellant, Tammy Thompson.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Clarence E. Lutz, Assistant Attorney General; Mike Bottoms, District Attorney General; and Larry Nickell, Assistant District
Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: TIPTON
The Defendant, Tammy Thompson, was found guilty by a Maury County Circuit Court jury of assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and resisting arrest, a Class B misdemeanor. See T.C.A. sections 39-13-101 (assault) (Supp. 2008) (amended 2009, 2010), 39-16-602 (resisting arrest)
(2010). She was sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days, with sixty days to be served, for assault, and to six months on probation for resisting arrest. The sentences were
imposed concurrently. On appeal, she contends that (1) the prosecution was barred by the statute of limitations, (2) the evidence was insufficient to support the resisting arrest
conviction, (3) the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the Defendant's conduct after she was taken to the jail, and (4) the trial court erred in failing to give a self-defense jury
instruction. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/thompsont_101911.pdf
DIMARKO B. WILLIAMS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert C. Richardson, Jr., Columbia, Tennessee, for the appellant, Dimarko B. Williams.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Nicholas W. Spangler, Assistant Attorney General; T. Michel Bottoms, District Attorney General; and Daniel J. Runde,
Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: THOMAS
The Petitioner, Dimarko B. Williams, appeals as of right from the Maury County Circuit Court's dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as untimely. The Petitioner contends that the United States Supreme Court's decision in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004), created a new constitutional right, tolling the limitations period. Following our review of the record and the relevant case law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/williamsd_101911.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Congressional News
Celebrate Pro Bono
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Summers: Keep state AG independent |
| Former Tennessee attorney general Paul Summers writes in an opinion piece this week that the state attorney general should remain a nonpolitical officer of the state because "the opinion of the attorney general carries so much weight in deciding the legal business of the state." Summers also points out that the position has been independent of political crosswinds since 1870 and should remain so.
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Read the editorial
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| Hamilton Co. delays magistrate vote |
| The Hamilton County Commission deadlocked 4-4 today while voting on who should be chief magistrate, with half of the group supporting current magistrate Randall Russell and half supporting current chief magistrate Larry Ables. The commission will reconvene next week to consider the matter again.
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The Times Free Press has the story
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| Congressional News |
| Senate votes to end gun program |
| The U.S. Senate voted yesterday to effectively block the Justice Department from undertaking gun-smuggling probes like the controversial "Operation Fast and Furious," which was aimed at breaking up gun-running into Mexico but lost track of hundreds of the weapons. The 99-0 vote would block the government from transferring guns to drug cartels unless federal agents "continuously monitor or control" the weapons.
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The News Sentinel reports
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| Celebrate Pro Bono |
| Legal clinic Thursday in Murfreesboro |
| The Rutherford County Bar Association will hold a legal advice clinic Thursday, Oct. 20, at Greenhouse Ministries, 309 South Spring St. in Murfreesboro. The event will run from 4 to 6 p.m., although members of the public seeking free legal assistance may sign in beginning at 3:30 p.m. Please contact Murfreesboro lawyer John Blankenship at (615) 893-4160 or john@blankenshiplawffice.com for more information.
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See a full schedule of Celebrate Pro Bono Month events
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| TBA Member Services |
| Use the TBA rewards card |
| A Tennessee Bar Association Platinum Plus MasterCard credit card from Bank of America rewards you for the things you buy anyway. You also have the chance to show your support for Tennessee Bar Association every time you present your card. To apply, call toll-free (866) 438-6262 or learn more here |
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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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