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| Monday, December 19, 2011 |
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Critics say ABA approval central to high cost of law school
Duncan School of Law Dean Sydney Beckman talks about the struggle to provide an affordable legal education while also complying with the American Bar Association's stringent -- and expensive -- accreditation standards, in a New York Times article.
Without having to go through all the hoops, he says, Duncan could have cut its tuition in half, maybe by two-thirds.
There is a paradox, the article contends, that although the United States produces roughly 45,000 lawyers a year, there is also an enormous unmet need for legal services, particularly in low- and middle-income communities.
The lack of affordable law school options, scholars say, helps explain why so many Americans don't hire lawyers.
The basic blueprint was established by elite institutions more than a century ago, and according to critics, it all but prohibits the law-school equivalent of the Honda Civic -- a low-cost model that delivers.
Instead, virtually every one of the country's 200 A.B.A.-accredited schools, from the lowliest to the most prestigious, has to build a Cadillac, or at least come close.
Duncan officials defended the school's request for ABA accreditation at a hearing on
Dec. 2, but has not yet learned the outcome.
Read the story in The New York Times
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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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DAVE BRUNDAGE ET AL. v. CUMBERLAND COUNTY ET AL.
Court: TSC
Attorneys:
Elizabeth L. Murphy, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Dave Brundage; Black Cat Lodge, LLC; John Coye; Barbara Coye; David Cobb; Sonja Cobb; Michael Lollar; Sherry Lollar; Larry Oran; Mary Oran; Troy Melton; Sandra Melton; Louse Devillon; Joan Devillon;
Carolyn Jozwiak; Vincent Jozwiak; Phillip Miller; and Patty Miller.
Randal R. Boston, Crossville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Cumberland County and Cumberland County Commission.
William L. Penny and Corinne E. Martin, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Smith
Mountain Solutions, LLC.
Judge: KOCH
This appeal calls into question the proper procedure for obtaining judicial review of a local legislative body's land use decision under the "Jackson Law," Tenn. Code Ann. sections 68-211-701 to -707 (2011). The opponents of a coal ash landfill, approved by the Cumberland
County Commission, filed a petition for a statutory writ of certiorari in the Chancery Court for Cumberland County seeking judicial review of the Commission's decision. The trial court dismissed the petition because it was not verified as required by Tenn. Code Ann. sections 27-8-106 (2000). The Court of Appeals affirmed. Brundage v. Cumberland Cnty., No. E2010-
00089-COA-R3-CV, 2010 WL 3025538, at *4 (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 4, 2010). We granted the petitioners' application for permission to appeal because the Jackson Law does not specifically define the procedure for seeking judicial review of a local legislative body's
decisions. We have determined (1) that a local legislative body's decision under the Jackson Law may be challenged either by a petition for a statutory writ of certiorari or by a complaint for declaratory judgment and (2) that the trial court and the Court of Appeals erred by failing to treat the statutory petition for writ of certiorari as a complaint for declaratory judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/brundaged_121911.pdf
SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS Grants & Denials List
Court: TSC
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/certlist_121911.pdf
LEONARD EDWARD SMITH v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TSC
Attorneys:
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Gordon W. Smith, Associate Solicitor General; John H. Bledsoe, Senior Counsel; H. Greeley Wells, Jr., District Attorney General, Barry P. Staubus, Deputy District Attorney, for the Appellant, State of Tennessee.
Paul J. Morrow, Jr., Deputy Post-Conviction Defender, and Kelly A. Gleason, Assistant Post-Conviction Defender, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Leonard Edward Smith.
Judge: LEE
In this post-conviction appeal Petitioner Leonard Edward Smith challenges his 1985 conviction and life sentence for the first degree felony murder of John Pierce, his 1989 conviction for the first degree felony murder of Novella Webb, and his 1995 death sentence
for the Webb murder. We affirm Smith's conviction and sentence for the Pierce murder, holding that Smith's post-conviction claims in the Pierce case were barred by the statute of limitations and that the statute should not be equitably tolled. We affirm Smith's conviction
for the Webb murder, holding that Smith did not demonstrate that he suffered prejudice resulting from his counsel's ineffective assistance in failing to adequately question the potential jurors during voir dire at his 1989 trial in the Webb case regarding their past
experiences either as a victim or with a victim of crime. We vacate Smith's death sentence, holding that Smith's counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to adequately investigate and present evidence supporting his motion to recuse the judge at his resentencing
hearing, which resulted in a denial of Smith's due process right to a fair trial before an impartial tribunal. We further hold that Smith is entitled to a new hearing on the question of whether he was intellectually disabled at the time of the Webb murder because the post-conviction court and the Court of Criminal Appeals applied an incorrect legal standard in determining Smith's functional intelligence quotient (I.Q.) under the principles recently espoused in Coleman v. State, 341 S.W.3d 221, 230 (Tenn. 2011).
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2011/smithl_121911.pdf
ROBERT HENDRICKS FAULKNER, BY AND THROUGH NEXT FRIEND, ARLENE BAKER v. ROBERT GRAVES AND WIFE, BARBARA GRAVES
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
James Belew Webb, Trenton, Tennessee, for the appellants, Robert Hendricks Faulkner and Arlene Baker.
Kyle C. Atkins, Humboldt, Tennessee, for the appellees, Robert Graves and Barbara Graves.
Judge: PER CURIAM
The order appealed in this matter is not a final judgment. Appellant failed to respond to this Court's Order permitting Appellant to obtain entry of a final judgment or else show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of a final judgment. Consequently, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/faulknerr_121911.pdf
LAWRENCE F. GOODINE v. CITY OF CHATTANOOGA
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Lawrence F. Goodine, pro se appellant.
Crystal R. Freiberg and Kenneth O. Fritz, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the 2 appellee, City of Chattanooga.
Judge: SWINEY
This case concerns the termination of Lawrence F. Goodine ("Goodine") from his job as a police officer for the City of Chattanooga ("Chattanooga"). Goodine was terminated from his job based on certain incidents that resulted in police internal affairs investigations and
charges. Goodine appealed his termination to the Chattanooga City Council ("the City Council"), which upheld his termination. Goodine then filed an application for writ of certiorari in the Chancery Court for Hamilton County ("the Trial Court"). Goodine sought
reversal of the City Council's decision and his reinstatement as a police officer. The Trial Court affirmed the City Council's decision. Goodine appeals, raising a number of issues. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/goodinel_121911.pdf
THERON DAVIS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert Brooks, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Theron Davis.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Assistant Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; Stacy M. McEndree, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
A Shelby County jury found the Petitioner, Theron Davis, guilty of attempted second degree murder and especially aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of thirty-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner appealed, and this Court affirmed the convictions in State v. Theron Davis, No. W2002-
00446-CCA-R3-CD, 2003 WL 21339000, at *13 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, May 28, 2003), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Oct. 6, 2003). The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-
conviction court denied after a hearing. On appeal, the
Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it dismissed his petition because he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the post-conviction court's judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/davist_121911.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Election 2012
Upcoming
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| H3GM to move to 'Batman' building |
| Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner will move to Nashville's AT&T Building next spring, the firm announced tpday, making it the first non-AT&T long-term tenant in the building.
H3GM will lease the 14th and 15th floors, totaling 26,500 square feet, at the iconic skyscraper at 333 Commerce St. |
NashvillePost.com reports
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| Branscom named Knoxville's public works director |
| Business founder Christi Branscom has been appointed director of public works for the city of Knoxville. Branscom has been with Partners Development since 1991 and also is president and founder of Grace Construction, a woman-owned business. At Partners, she serves as chief administrative officer, general counsel and managing broker. She has a principal broker's license and graduated from Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1990. |
The News Sentinel has this story
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| Editorial: Outrage over diversion understandable |
| The News Sentinel writes in an editorial that although there is public outrage from former Judge Richard Baumgartner not receiving jail time, the answer does not lie in the legislature. The paper calls two legislators' proposal to change a state anti-corruption law "genuine but misplaced." The change would prevent
officeholders convicted of felonies from receiving retirement benefits. "The real target of the outrage," the paper writes, "should be the agreement that allowed Baumgartner to plead guilty to a single count of official misconduct and qualify for diversion, which allows him to keep his $58,800 annual pension."
Editor Jack McElroy writes in a separate piece that diversion has been "standard procedure" this year for local officials who violated the public trust. "If the judicial system cuts deals that let records of those violations be swept away, the public's faith in honest government is violated all over again."
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Read the editorial in the News Sentinel
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| Bedford courthouse takes steps to ease overcrowding |
| Shelbyville's fire marshal said that he is "satisfied" with the efforts being made to make Bedford County Courthouse safer for people making court appearances. Two weeks ago the county was
cited for "dangerous overcrowding" as defendants packed the room so tightly that people could not enter or leave the chambers. |
The Shelbyville Times-Gazette tells the story
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| Health care arguments set, decision during campaign |
| The Supreme Court announced today that it has scheduled March 26-28, 2012,
to decide the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The court calendar that week will be filled with nothing but debate over President Barack Obama's signature domestic health care achievement. This means a final decision on the massive health care overhaul will likely come before Independence Day -- in the middle of Obama's re-election campaign.
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The Blog of Legal Times has more
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| Editorial: Justice Dept. should look at voter ID law |
| In an editorial, the Times Free Press makes the case against the new voter ID law, saying Tennessee and states with similar
laws should be scrutinized promptly by the Justice Department to gauge their disparate impact on selected groups of citizens in the new year's election cycles. U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced last Tuesday that he has ordered the Justice Department's civil rights division to aggressively review new voting rights laws for potential disparate impact on particular groups of citizens, beginning with the new laws in South Carolina and Texas. |
The Times Free Press has more
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| Justice Thomas dedicates Alabama courthouse |
| U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was to participate in the dedication of the Tuscaloosa Federal Building and Courthouse in Alabama today.
The building boasts 16 murals, each 14 feet tall and 9 feet wide. They include depictions of Alabama pioneers, the Civil War, George Wallace in the schoolhouse door, Bear Bryant and the tornadoes that struck the state April 27. |
Al.com has more
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| Wilson is Traffic Club president |
| Lawyer Mason W. Wilson has been elected president of The Traffic Club of Memphis, which focuses on the successful growth and evolution of the logistics industry in Memphis and throughout the world.
Wilson, who is also president of the TBA's Young Lawyers Division, is with Baker Donelson's Transportation practice group and its 24 Hour Motor Carrier Emergency Response Team. |
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| Texas man wants DA to pay for withholding evidence |
| A man exonerated by a Texas judge today after being held for 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife, is going to try to hold he prosecutor
he blames accountable for withholding evidence that could have acquitted him, back when his case was originally tried. Michael Morton's lawyers today requested that a court of inquiry be convened to determine whether Ken Anderson, now a district judge, broke any laws or legal ethics rules by failing to provide exculpatory information to the defense prior to trial. |
ABAJournal.com connects you
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| Election 2012 |
| Gingrich would force judges to explain decisions |
| On Sunday, during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation," Newt Gingrich said as president he would consider dispatching U.S. marshals to force -- and even arrest if necessary -- judges to appear before Congress to explain controversial decisions.
NPR reports
that leading up to the Iowa caucuses, when Gingrich talks about what he would do to "activist judges," they are his "best applause lines."
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The Washington Post details it
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| Upcoming |
| 'West of Memphis' comes to Nashville from Sundance |
| Nashville's Belcourt Theater will screen "West of Memphis" and present an audience Q & A session with the filmmaker for this one-night-only screening, Jan. 26, 2012. West of Memphis will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in January, then screen at the Belcourt for this exclusive event.
"West of Memphis" is the story of three teenage boys who are jailed for the murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark. Nineteen years later, new evidence calls into question the convictions and raises issues of judicial, prosecutorial and jury misconduct. |
Business Clarksville has details
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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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