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| Friday, November 04, 2011 |
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TBA announces leadership class for 2012
The Tennessee Bar Association is today announcing its Leadership Law Class for 2012. Programming begins with an opening retreat in January and concludes with graduation ceremonies during the 2012 TBA Annual Convention next June in Memphis. The program will have 35 class members from across the state who were selected from several hundred nominees.
See the full TBALL class of 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
00 - TN Court of Appeals
02 - 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
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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GDONGALAY P. BERRY v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
James W. Price, Nashville, Tennessee, and James E. Brenner, Detroit, Michigan, for the appellant, Gdongalay P. Berry.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Lacy Wilber, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Katrin Miller, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WITT
The Davidson County Criminal Court denied the petitioner, Gdongalay P. Berry, post-conviction
relief from his Davidson County Criminal Court convictions of two counts of first degree murder, two counts of especially aggravated robbery, and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping but granted relief from his sentence of death in the form of a new
capital sentencing hearing. The petitioner appeals the partial denial of his petition for post-conviction
relief, alleging that the State violated the tenets of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963); that neither the State nor the trial court honored his constitutional right to a speedy trial; that the State's pursuit of inconsistent theories violated his constitutional right to due process; that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel; and that the cumulative effect of the constitutional deprivations rendered his trial fundamentally unfair. The State appeals the post-conviction court's grant of a new sentencing hearing, asserting that the error attending the petitioner's original sentencing hearing was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Discerning no error, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/berryg_110411.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHN WESLEY WRIGHT
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Mitchell B. Dugan (at motion for new trial and on appeal), Dickson, Tennessee and Anita Lynn Coffinberry (at trial), Erin, Tennessee, for the appellant, John Wesley Wright.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Lindsy Paduch Stempel, Assistant Attorney General; Dan Mitchum Alsobrooks, District Attorney General; and Carey Thompson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: TIPTON
The Defendant, John Wesley Wright, was convicted by a Dickson County Circuit Court jury of theft of property valued at ten thousand dollars or more but less than sixty thousand dollars, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. sections 39-14-103, -105 (2010). He was sentenced as a
Range II, multiple offender to seven years' confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) he was denied his right to a speedy trial, (2) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, and (3) he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/wrightj_110411.pdf
IN RE: HARRY MAX SPEIGHT, BPR 007455
Court: TSC-Disciplinary_Order
Judge: KOCH
Disbarment
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/speighth_110411.pdf
IN RE: THOMAS HENRY WARE, BPR 011179
Court: TSC-Disciplinary_Order
Judge: KOCH
Transfer to disability inactive
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/waret_110411.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Correction
Disciplinary Actions
Career Opportunities
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Video training available for digital evidence system |
| In conjunction with staff at the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of
Tennessee, the Knoxville Bar Association's Judicial Committee has developed
a "how to" video on using the Digital Evidence Presentation System (DEPS) equipment in federal court. The eight-minute video provides an explanation of how to display evidence using the
DEPS equipment in easy to understand language.
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View the video
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| Capital case attorney assists in murder trial |
| Susan Jones is one of three of Tennessee's Capital case attorneys. Based in Knoxville, she is working in Kingsport with Judge Jerry Beck on the trial of Leslie Allen Ware Jr.
The purpose of Jones's and the others' jobs is to "assist Tennessee's trial judges with cases in which the state is seeking the death penalty," according to Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts spokeswoman Laura Click. |
The Times News explains the process
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| Court: Littlefield's recall should have been allowed |
| The Tennessee Court of Appeals handed down
a decision
Thursday saying a Circuit Court judge was wrong in not allowing the Hamilton County Election Commission a chance to certify a petition to oust Mayor Ron Littlefield. |
The Times Free Press reports
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| NSL adds entertainment lawyer to faculty |
| Ramona P. DeSalvo has joined the faculty of Nashville School of Law (NSL) to teach intellectual property and entertainment law. DeSalvo has been in private practice with a focus on entertainment transactions since October 2008. In 2010, she resumed operation of Vision Management, a company she founded in the 1990s to advise artists and songwriters. Before 2008, she was with Nashville-based law firm King & Ballow for six years, where she was of counsel and served as a senior associate. |
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| Nichols passes bar, takes oath as assistant D.A. |
| Newly appointed Assistant District Attorney General Nathan S. Nichols was administered the oath of office by Cannon County General Sessions Judge Susan Melton on Thursday.
He was named to the post by District Attorney General William C. Whitesell Jr. after passing the Tennessee bar exam last month. |
The Cannon Courier has a picture
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| Texas family law judge caught on video beating daughter |
| A Texas family law judge whose daughter secretly videotaped him savagely beating her seven years ago won't face criminal charges because too much time has elapsed, police say.
Judge William Adams, who presides over child abuse cases, is still being investigated by the state's judicial conduct commission and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which on Thursday requested that he be removed from its cases until the investigation concludes. |
The News Sentinel has this story
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| Miss. governor backs change that would thwart abortions |
| Casting his absentee ballot today, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour offered his support for an amendment to the state constitution that would define life as beginning at the moment of conception. Though the text of the amendment is simple, the implications if it passes couldn't be more complex. If approved by Mississippi voters on Tuesday, it would make it impossible to get an abortion and hamper the ability to get some forms of birth control. |
CNN reports
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| Correction |
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| An item in yesterday's issue referred
to Judge Richard Dinkins as chancellor, which is no longer correct. He now sits on the
Tennessee Court of Appeals. |
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| Disciplinary Actions |
| Shelby County lawyer suspended |
| Shelby County lawyer Alisa Lashelle Simmons was suspended from the practice of law for one year on Oct. 27 retroactive to a previous suspension imposed on Oct. 19, 2010. The Tennessee Supreme Court took the action based on Simmons' failure to pay annual registration fees and professional privilege taxes, comply with continuing legal education requirements and respond to a disciplinary complaint. In addition, the court imposed conditions for reinstatement, including compliance with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement and providing restitution. |
Download the court order
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| Knox County lawyer censured |
| On Oct. 27, Knox County lawyer Jeffrey William Warkins was publicly censured by the Board of Professional Responsibility for misuse of his IOLTA account. In March 2009, Warkins deposited client funds as well as personal funds into his IOLTA account. He then used the account to pay personal expenses. The board found that Warkins violated Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15 regarding the safekeeping of property. It did note, however, that no client funds were misused.
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Download the BPR release
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| Hamilton County lawyer censured |
| On Oct. 31, Hamilton County lawyer Carl Mark Warren received a public censure from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. The board found that in representing a client in a personal injury claim, Warren did not obtain a written fee agreement and accepted a settlement without the client's authorization. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(a), 1.4, 1.5(c) and 1.15(b).
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Download the BPR release
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| Career Opportunities |
| Duncan Law seeks career services officer |
| Lincoln Memorial University is hiring an assistant director of career services to help manage the day-to-day operations of the Office of Career Services at the Duncan School of Law in Knoxville. A master's degree in a related field or a law degree is preferred. Interested individuals should submit an application for employment, a cover letter addressing qualifications for the position, a resume, three references and official transcripts to Lincoln Memorial University, 6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway, Harrogate 37752, Attn: Pamela Lester. Electronic submissions may be sent to pamela.lester@lmunet.edu.
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Learn more on JobLink
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| TBA Member Services |
| The Bar Plan is TBA's endorsed insurer |
| The Tennessee Bar Association endorses only The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Company for lawyers' professional liability insurance. For 26 years, The Bar Plan has specialized in providing malpractice insurance to lawyers and therefore understands the needs and challenges you face as a practicing attorney. Contact Mark Bockius by email or phone at (314) 288-1050 to ask how your practice can be protected by The Bar Plan.
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Discontinue your TBA Today subscription? ... Surely not!
But if you must, visit the TBALink web site at:
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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
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