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U.S.-Born Citizen Held for Deportation at ICE’s Request

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 5, 2018
A new lawsuit filed this week in federal court details the case of a Philadelphia-born U.S. citizen who was detained for weeks in Florida at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, The Washington Post reports. The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of Peter Sean Brown, who was told he would be deported to Jamaica, a country that the lawsuit states “he has never lived and knows no one.” Brown was detained in Monroe County, which this year entered a new arrangement with ICE under a “Basic Ordering Agreement.” His ICE detainer form said he was to be deported because of “biometric information.” 

Senate Democrats Choose Yarbro, Akbari for Leadership

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 5, 2018
The Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus chose Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville for minority leader and Memphis Sen. Raumesh Akbari as caucus chair, The Nashville Post reports. Nashville Sen. Brenda Gilmore was named floor leader and Memphis Sen. Katrina Robinson was elected minority whip.

Miller Asks Haslam's Office for Mercy

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 5, 2018
Days before David Earl Miller's scheduled execution, his legal team asked Gov. Bill Haslam for mercy, saying Miller's "severe mental illness" should shield him from the death penalty, The Tennessean reports. Miller is scheduled to die by the electric chair tomorrow for the 1981 murder of Lee Standifer in Knoxville. In a clemency request filed with Haslam's office last week, Miller's legal team argued that "Miller’s severe mental illness and mental state at the time of the crime place him far outside that group of offenders who are the worst and for whom the death penalty is reserved.” Haslam's office confirmed they are reviewing the petition.

Judge Grants Judicial Diversion to KPD Officer Who Groped Woman on Call

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 5, 2018
A former Knoxville Police Department officer who went to a woman’s home after investigating a disturbance call involving her and then groped her will get a chance at wiping his record clean, a judge ruled Wednesday. Knoxnews reports that Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee today granted former KPD Officer Jason Tyler Hughett judicial diversion. Hughett pleaded guilty last year to charges of sexual battery and official oppression in connection with the September 2017 incident.

Bradley County Lawyer Disbarred

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 5, 2018
The Supreme Court of Tennessee today disbarred Bradley County lawyer Michael John McNulty from the practice of law and ordered him to pay restitution to one client in the amount of $1,125. He must also pay court costs within 90 days. On Jan. 29, a petition for discipline was filed against McNulty over two complaints of ethical misconduct. In the first complaint, McNulty received $1,125 for legal services but provided minimal services and ultimately abandoned the representation of the client. As a result of McNulty’s abandonment, the client was compelled to hire new counsel. In the second complaint, McNulty falsified an email communication related to a client’s matter, sending an email to a medical provider that purported to be sent from an attorney who no longer worked at McNulty’s firm. McNulty did not answer the Petition for Discipline or appear at the final hearing.

Attorneys Suspended for Failing to Comply with IOLTA Reporting, Nonpayment of Annual Fee

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 4, 2018

More than 60 attorneys were suspended this week by the Tennessee Supreme Court for either failing to comply with mandatory IOLTA reporting requirements, failure to pay the annual registration fee, or both. The orders were both filed today. A full list of administrative suspensions and reinstatements is available on the TBA website.

Commission Sends 3 Names to Haslam for 20th District Court Vacancy

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 4, 2018
The Trial Vacancy Commission today selected three candidates to submit to Gov. Bill Haslam for the 20th Judicial District Chancery Court vacancy. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews with six candidates, the commission selected David M. Anthony, Stanley A. Kweller and Patricia Head Moskal. There is an upcoming vacancy in this position due to the upcoming retirement of the Hon. Claudia C. Bonnyman.

TSC Denies Disability Status to Attorney Facing Disciplinary Complaints

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 4, 2018
TheTennessee Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Knox County Chancery Court that attorney Thomas F. Mabry has not proven that he lacked the capacity, by reason of mental illness, to respond to or defend against a disciplinary complaint filed against him. In 2015, Mabry filed a notice with the Tennessee Supreme Court that he was suffering from a mental illness that prevented him from defending himself against a disciplinary complaint. The court referred his case to a hearing panel, at which Mabry testified about his mental illness, and he presented a letter from a clinical social worker confirming his mental illness. The hearing panel determined that he had not shown that the illness prevented him from defending against the disciplinary complaint, and the Chancery Court agreed.

Supreme Court Calls for Reconsideration of Mandatory Bar Membership

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 4, 2018
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered a federal appeals court to reconsider a First Amendment challenge to mandatory bar membership by a North Dakota lawyer, The ABA Journal reports. The Supreme Court vacated a judgment against lawyer Arnold Fleck and ordered the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis to reconsider the case, ordering it to take into account the high court’s June decision striking down mandatory union dues for collective bargaining on behalf of government employees, saying that dues violated the employees’ First Amendment rights. Fleck contends he should not be compelled to join a bar association.

Court Denies Delay of Miller Execution

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Dec 4, 2018
A federal appeals court has blocked an attempt to delay David Earl Miller's execution while he challenges the constitutionality of lethal injection and the electric chair, The Tennessean reports. Miller was one of four death row inmates to file suit in November, arguing that a firing squad would be more humane than the state's three-drug lethal injection protocol or the electric chair. In order to secure a stay of execution, the appellate judges wrote, Miller would have to show he was likely to succeed in challenging Tennessee's execution methods as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. A majority of the judges said he had failed to do so.
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