Tuesday, December 06, 2011
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Ethics Roadshow 2011 kicks off this week

The Tennessee Bar Association's popular Ethics Roadshow CLE program kicks off its 2011 tour this week with sessions on Thursday, Dec. 8, in Chattanooga and Friday, Dec. 9, in Knoxville. The Roadshow continues next week with a stop in Johnson City on Wednesday, Dec. 14, before finishing up with visits to Memphis and Cookeville on Thursday, Dec. 15, and Nashville on Friday, Dec. 16. All of the sessions will feature Memphis attorney Brian Faughnan, who chairs the TBA's Ethics and Professionalism Committee.

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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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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.
JANICE BROOKS, ET AL. v. RIVERTOWN ON THE ISLAND HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION, INC.

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Robin H. Rasmussen and James O. Evans, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Rivertown On The Island Homeowner Association, Inc.

Paul J. Springer, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellees, Janice Brooks and Cedrick Wilson.

Judge: FARMER

Appellee filed an action to set aside Defendant Homeowners' Association non-judicial foreclosure sale of a condo unit for allegedly unpaid homeowners' association fees. The trial court set aside the sale upon determining that there was no credible basis upon which to determine the amount due at the time of the sale. We affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/brooksj_120611.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JASON OSMOND HINES
CORRECTION on page one changing the AAG from Leslie Price to Clark Thornton

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Donna Miller, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jason Osmond Hines.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Clark Thornton, Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney General, Cameron Williams and Lance Pope, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: SMITH

Appellant was convicted following a jury trial of two counts of second degree murder and one count of aggravated assault. At a separate sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Appellant to twenty-two years as Range I, violent offender, for each second degree murder conviction and to five years for the aggravated assault conviction. The trial court merged one of the second degree murder convictions and the aggravated assault conviction into the remaining second degree murder conviction. On appeal, Appellant argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for second degree murder; (2) the trial court erred in excluding a drawing from evidence; (3) the trial court erred in denying Appellant's request for a mistrial; (4) the State committed prosecutorial misconduct by suborning perjury of one of its witnesses; (5) the State committed prosecutorial misconduct by making inappropriate comments during closing argument; (6) the cumulative effects of errors at trial precluded a fair trial; and (7) the trial court erred in sentencing Appellant. We have reviewed the record on appeal and conclude that Appellant cannot be successful on any of the above issues. Therefore, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/hinesj_CORR_120611.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. VICTOR D. McMILLER

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Ricky A.W. Curtis, Blountville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Victor D. McMiller.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Lacy Wilber, Assistant Attorney General; H. Greeley Wells, Jr., District Attorney General; and Kent Chitwood, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee.

Judge: WOODALL

Defendant, Victor D. McMiller, was charged with two counts each of the sale and delivery of dihydrocodeinone, a Schedule III controlled substance. Defendant was convicted on all four counts. His convictions for delivery of a controlled substance were merged into his convictions for sale of a controlled substance, and Defendant was sentenced to 12 years for each conviction, and his convictions were ordered to be served consecutively for an effective sentence of 24 years. On appeal, Defendant argues that: 1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; 2) the trial court erred by allowing testimony of Defendant's prior bad acts; 3) the presentment was facially invalid because it states that sale or delivery of a Schedule III controlled substance is a Class C, rather than Class D, felony; and 4) the trial court erred by ordering consecutive sentences. After a careful review of the record, we affirm Defendant's convictions and sentences.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/mcmillerv_120611.pdf
TODAY'S NEWS
Legal News
TBA Member Services
Legal News
Local lawyers to be admitted to U.S. Supreme Court
Six Tennessee lawyers will be admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday on the motion of Memphis lawyer Daniel W. Van Horn, president of the Tennessee Bar Association. They are Christopher Kim Thompson, John Clinton Hayworth, Francis Leon Lloyd Jr., Thomas L. Kilday, Iiya Ionelovich Berenshteyn and LeRoy Dudley Senter III. The admission ceremony is part of the 28th Annual TBA Academy.
The Commercial Appeal has more
Fraudulent tax prep gets ex-Nashville man 2 years jail
A Middle Tennessee man who had earlier been accused of preying on the immigrant community by providing legal services without a license was today sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for preparing and submitting fraudulent tax returns to the IRS. Elmer Virula had been indicted on April 8, 2010, and charged with 16 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns. According to the indictment, Virula primarily catered to Nashville's Hispanic community, preparing fraudulent federal income tax returns for others to be filed with the IRS for calendar years 2003 through 2006. Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper had earlier reached an agreement with Virula that included restitution to consumers who had paid money for legal or marriage services.
Learn more from the U.S. Department of Justice
Convicted rapist in Baumgartner court asks for new trial
The lawyer for convicted rapist Jayson Bailey has filed for a new trial because of the conduct of then-Judge Richard Baumgartner. Bailey is the step-father of the victim, 17. Her family is concerned about her having to go through another trial. "It's not my fault that this is happening right now at all. It's the lack of responsibility that the judge had," she said. "We're supposed to trust the judicial system in Knox County again?" her grandfather said. "Sorry I don't trust them one bit." Gov. Haslam also weighed in on the possibility of new trials for those convicted under Baumgartner.
WBIR.com has the story
ESPN reporter files suit against Nashville hotel
ESPN reporter Erin Andrews filed a new lawsuit in Davidson County Circuit Court last week accusing the Nashville hotel where she was unknowingly videotaped in the nude in 2008 of invasion of privacy, negligence and infliction of emotional stress.
Read about it in the Tennessean
Sullivan wants to ease Sunshine Law
A Sullivan County commissioner says easing the "Sunshine Law" would merely make it more like what happens. Commissioner Bill Kilgore introduced a resolution last month asking the County Commission to go on record in favor of changing state law to eliminate the requirement that the public be notified in advance of meetings of two or more members of a group that makes decisions or recommendations on public policy.
The TimesNew.net has more
ABA to change job data reporting
The American Bar Association is changing the way it collects graduate employment information from law schools. The council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar on Dec. 3 approved a new annual questionnaire intended to gather more detailed information about where recent law grads find work. The change came as law students, graduates and three U.S. senators heaped criticism on the ABA and law schools for not providing prospective law students with an accurate picture of graduate employment and salary levels.
Read more in the National Law Journal
'Responsible corporate officer' doctrine gets dusted off
Recently the U.S. government has sought to reinvigorate the "responsible corporate officer" doctrine, and some executives are facing stiffer penalties than they had ever imagined. The doctrine allows for prison terms of up to one year for misdemeanor violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Insurance Journal has this Reuters story
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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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