Thursday, November 17, 2011
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High school mock trial case, rules released

The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division today released the case and rules for the 2012 High School Mock Trial Competition. Drafted by the YLD Mock Trial Committee, under the leadership of Chair Troy Weston and Vice Chair Candi Henry, this year's case features a struggling textile manufacturing business that is destroyed in a late night fire. Allegations of arson lead the insurer to deny any claims and file a declaratory action that no benefits are owed. The owner denies any knowledge of or involvement in the incident. As always, the case involves its share of characters, including a secretary making $8,300 a month and a disgruntled employee who moonlights as a speed metal-bluegrass fusion musician. Throw in the allegation of an inappropriate office romance and theft of college sports memorabilia from an office safe and you have the makings of another great mock trial case.

Local competitions will take place across the state in February. Local winners will face off at the state competition, March 16-17, in Nashville.

Learn more and download the competition material
TODAY'S OPINIONS
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ABN AMRO MORTGAGE GROUP, INC. v. SOUTHERN SECURITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Harold D. Mangrum, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Southern Security Federal Credit Union.

T. Tarry Beasley, II, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc.

Judge: STAFFORD

Appellant, the second mortgage holder on the subject property, appeals the trial court's determination that Appellee held a valid first mortgage on the property, when Appellee's mortgage was taken under a deed of trust that contained a scrivener's error that incorrectly identified the property's lot number. The trial court held that: (1) the scrivener's error was not fatal to Appellant's deed of trust as the instrument otherwise clearly identified the property; (2) Appellant's mortgage was superior to Appellee's; and (3) Appellee's bid at Appellant's foreclosure sale created a valid contract, under which Appellee owed Appellant the purchase price. Finding no error, we affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/abnamro_111711.pdf
ROBIN CLAIRE PEARSON GORMAN v. TIMOTHY STEWART GORMAN
With Concurring Opinion

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Roger James Bean and Bradley Joseph Eldridge-Smith, Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the appellant, Timothy Stewart Gorman.

Michael E. Griffin and Karen Sedora Price, Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the appellee, Robin Claire Pearson Gorman.

Judge: BENNETT

Husband challenges the trial court's award of alimony in solido beginning after three years of rehabilitative alimony. We find no abuse of discretion and affirm the trial court's decision.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/gormanr_111711.pdf

CLEMENT concurring
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/gormanr_CON_111711.pdf
LYDIA LEE OGLE v. KEVIN FRANK OGLE

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Thomas F. Bloom, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kevin Frank Ogle.

Gregory M. O'Neal, Winchester, Tennessee, for the appellee, Lydia Lee Ogle.

Judge: BENNETT

In a divorce action, Husband appeals the trial court's designation of Wife as the primary residential parent, its allocation of the marital debt, and its denial of alimony. Discerning no error, we affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/oglel_111711.pdf
JANSON POPE v. SAYURI POPE

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Connie Reguli, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sayuri Pope.

Louis Raphael Demarco, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Janson Pope.

Judge: BENNETT

In this post-divorce dispute, wife challenges the trial court's credibility finding, an award for alimony arrearage, and an award of attorney fees. While we find that the amount of the arrearage award should be modified, we affirm the decision of the trial court in all other respects.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/popej_111711.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOSE JESUS ALBA-GUTIERREZ

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Paul Julius Walwyn, Madison, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jose Jesus Alba-Gutierrez.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Meredith Devault, Assistant Attorney General; Victor S. Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Amy Eisenbeck, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WITT

Originally charged with five counts of aggravated burglary and four counts of theft of property valued at $1,000 or more but less than $10,000, the defendant, Jose Jesus Alba-Gutierrez, pleaded guilty to five counts of aggravated burglary in exchange for a total effective sentence not to exceed ten years, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court, and the State's agreement to dismiss the theft charges against him. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the defendant to serve his sentence in confinement. In this appeal, the defendant challenges the order of a fully incarcerative sentence. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/albagutierrezj_111711.pdf
FERNANDEZ D. DAVENPORT v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Fernandez D. Davenport, pro se.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General & Reporter; Lindsy Paduch Stempel, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WOODALL

The Appellant, Fernandez D. Davenport, appeals the trial court's dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The Appellant fails to assert a cognizable claim for which habeas corpus relief may be granted. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/davenportf_111711.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MICHAEL DEAN MARLIN

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

William M. Haywood, Lewisburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Michael Dean Marlin.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Nicholas W. Spangler, Assistant Attorney General; Chuck Crawford, District Attorney General; and Weakley E. Barnard, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: TIPTON

The Defendant, Michael Dean Marlin, was found guilty by a Marshall County Circuit Court jury of three counts of especially aggravated burglary, a Class B felony; aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; robbery, a Class C felony; aggravated assault, a Class D felony; and assault, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court merged the especially aggravated burglary convictions. The court sentenced the Defendant as a Range II, multiple offender to twenty years each for the especially aggravated burglary convictions and the aggravated robbery conviction, to ten years each for the robbery and the aggravated assault, and to eleven months and twenty-nine days for the assault, to be served concurrently for an effective twenty-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that double jeopardy protections and Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-404(d) bar simultaneous convictions for aggravated robbery, especially aggravated burglary, and aggravated assault. We affirm the judgments for robbery and assault, but we reverse the especially aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, and aggravated robbery judgments and remand the case for entry of judgments in which the Defendant's convictions for especially aggravated burglary are modified to aggravated burglary and he is resentenced accordingly, and the conviction for aggravated assault is merged into a judgment of conviction for aggravated robbery.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/marlinm_111711.pdf
County Medical Examiner and Coroner Serving on County Commission

TN Attorney General Opinions

Date: 2011-11-17

Opinion Number: 11-74

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_74.pdf
Determination of Navigability and Ownership of Land Beneath a River

TN Attorney General Opinions

Date: 2011-11-17

Opinion Number: 11-75

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_75.pdf
County's Responsibility for Payment of Court-Ordered Mental Health Evaluations

TN Attorney General Opinions

Date: 2011-11-17

Opinion Number: 11-76

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_76.pdf
Coordinating Committee under Local Planning Law

TN Attorney General Opinions

Date: 2011-11-17

Opinion Number: 11-77

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_77.pdf
Publication of Rule Following Court's Invalidation of Rule Amendments

TN Attorney General Opinions

Date: 2011-11-17

Opinion Number: 11-78

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2011/ag_11_78.pdf
TODAY'S NEWS
Legal News
U.S. Supreme Court
Politics
Upcoming
TBA Member Services
Legal News
Belle Meade membership viotates code, panel says
Judge George Paine II will not be disciplined for his membership in the Belle Meade Country Club, but only because he is planning to retire next month, a panel of federal judges said Thursday. Paine is the chief bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Tennessee. The panel said his membership violates the ethics code for federal judges because the club has no women or blacks as full-fledged members. The code says judges should not belong to organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion or national origin. Five senior federal judges said "the conclusion that Belle Meade engages in invidious discrimination against women and African Americans is inescapable."
The Washington Post has the story
Amy Weirich chosen for Griffin/Loring award
The Board of Directors of the Association for Women Attorneys has selected Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich as the 2012 recipient of the Marion Griffin/Francis Loring award. Weirich will be recognized at the AWA's annual banquet in January. Weirich is the first female district attorney for Shelby County, having served in the D.A.'s office for more than 20 years.
Baker Donelson expands into Florida
Baker, Donelson has merged with the Orlando law firm of Litchford & Christopher PA. The merger gives Baker Donelson its first Florida location and, with the firm's move into Texas in October, marks the second new market it has added to its footprint in the last month. Through the merger, Baker Donelson gains six attorneys from Litchford & Christopher. The combined firm, which will continue with the name of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC, has more than 620 attorneys and advisors across 18 offices in seven states and Washington, D.C.
Learn more about the merger
Vanderbilt law professor to advise Clinton
Vanderbilt University law professor Ingrid Wuerth has been named to a State Department committee that advises Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on matters of international law.
NashvillePost.com reports
Order against curfew is victory for 'Occupy Nashville'
Today U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger signed an order indefinitely barring the state from enforcing a curfew on Legislative Plaza, the War Memorial courtyards and around the Capitol. The ruling converts a temporary, 21-day injunction to an injunction that will be in place until the court can fully decide whether the state's actions violate protesters' constitutional rights to assemble and exercise in free speech. David Briley, one of three attorneys representing Occupy Nashville, called the action a victory for the protesters.
Read it in the Tennessean
Poplin to be district court clerk
Debbie Poplin, Knoxville's first female law director, has been chosen to serve as U.S. District Court clerk for East Tennessee. Poplin was appointed city law director by Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam in January 2008.
Read more in the News Sentinel
Living wills not priority for healthy boomers, survey says
An Associated Press-LifeGoesStrong.com poll found that 64 percent of baby boomers -- those born between 1946 and 1964 -- say they don't have a a health care power of attorney or living will. Of those surveyed, some said it's because they feel healthy and young in their middle-age years and don't need to dwell on death.
TriCities.com carried this story
Willis is new Anderson County president
The Anderson County Bar Association selected new leaders for 2012 at its most recent meeting. John Willis is president, David Vander Sluis is vice president, and Katherine Kroeger is secretary/treasurer. Janet Mynatt is immediate past president.
Suit says educators knew of bullying but did nothing
A Roane County mother has filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Knoxville against the school and its officials where she says her son was bullied. Melissa L. Hunka says she repeatedly met with educators, but they did nothing to stop the bullying.
The News Sentinel has more
Penn State hires firm for help with sexual abuse scandal
Penn State University has hired the firm Reed Smith to advise its board of trustees, which formed a special committee last week to conduct an internal investigation into allegations that a former assistant football coach sexually abused multiple young boys and that two top school administrators helped conceal his actions. The firm will provide outside counsel to the board of trustees on various matters but will not advise the special committee, which will engage separate outside counsel for its internal inquiry.
The AmLaw Daily reports
U.S. Supreme Court
Breyer: GPS case could be like Orwell's '1984'
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments over a drug conviction involving police use of a hidden GPS tracking device without a search warrant. The First Amendment Center's Gene Policinski writes that the court's decision will have implications for our First Amendment rights of association and free speech, because of a legal concept called "practical obscurity." On Nov. 8 Justice Stephen Breyer, likening the situation to George Orwell's novel, "1984," told the government's lawyer that "if you win this case, then there is nothing to prevent the police or the government from monitoring 24 hours a day the public movements of every citizen of the United States."
The Roane County News carried this story
Politics
Littlefield recalled, election set for next August
Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield was formally recalled Thursday when the Hamilton County Election Commission accepted a long-disputed recall petition and set a mayoral election for August 2012.
Nooga.com has more
Upcoming
Knoxville Bar annual meeting set for Dec. 9
The Knoxville Bar Association will hold its annual meeting and elections Dec. 9 at 8:30 a.m. at the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building. A continental breakfast will be available at 8 a.m. The slate of officers to be approved is as follows: President-Elect Heidi A. Barcus, Treasurer Wade V. Davies and Secretary Tasha C. Blakney. Members also will vote on four open positions on the KBA Board of Governors.
Learn more about the meeting and nominations received to date
Lawyers needed to score college moot court
Lawyers are needed to sit as jurors and score the Appellate Moot Court Collegiate Challenge (AMC3) on Nov. 19 and 20. The program, the newest offering from the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature Foundation (TISL) allows undergraduate students the opportunity to write briefs and argue as both petitioner and respondent in a fictitious case. Lawyer volunteers are needed for Saturday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and for Sunday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The proceedings will take place in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the state capitol. For more information or to volunteer, contact Jeff Wilson at jeff@10ec.com. or (615) 584-3336.
Learn more about the competition 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.
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