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Court Solicits Written Comments on Changes to Rule 33

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 17, 2018
The court is considering amending Rule 33 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court to establish a supporting organization under the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act. The court is soliciting written comments on the proposal, available here, from judges, lawyers, bar associations, members of the public and any other interested parties.The deadline for submitting written comments is Nov. 19. Written comments should be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or mailed to James Hivner, Clerk, Re: Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 17 Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407 and should include the docket number.

Judge Dismisses Negligent Homicide Charge Against Man Who Accidently Killed Girlfriend

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 17, 2018
A judge has dismissed a negligent homicide charge against a Chattanooga man who’s girlfriend was killed when his firearm accidentally discharged in their home, The Times Free Press reports. Judge Clarence Shattuck said there wasn’t probable cause for the charge against Cody Gilliland, who said he was examining the scope on his AR-15 rifle when his dog jumped on him. As his dog continued to jump, Gilliland said he bumped into the wall and the gun went off. All sides agreed Gilliland had no intention to harm his girlfriend, but the case rested on whether he should have been aware of the risk that his handling of the gun would pose to his girlfriend. 

ABA Issues Formal Opinion on Lawyers' Duty in Case of Cyber Attack

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 17, 2018
The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion this week that reaffirms the duty of lawyers to notify clients of a data breach and details reasonable steps to be taken to meet obligations set forth in model rules. “When a breach of protected client information is either suspected or detected, Rule 1.1 requires that the lawyer act reasonably and promptly to stop the breach and mitigate damage resulting from the breach,” Formal Opinion 483 says. “Lawyers should consider proactively developing an incident response plan with specific plans and procedures for responding to a data breach. The decision whether to adopt a plan, the content of any plan and actions taken to train and prepare for implementation of the plan should be made before a lawyer is swept up in an actual breach.” Read more here.

Ethics Roadshow Kickoff: Chattanooga

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 17, 2018
It’s back! The popular Ethics Roadshow program makes its first stop in Chattanooga on Dec. 4. This year’s theme, Back to Basics: Sailing the Five Cs of Ethical Lawyering, focuses on the five “Cs” that make up the perfect recipe for ethical lawyering, no matter what kind of law you practice: Competence, Confidentiality, (Avoiding) Conflicts, Communication and Candor. Don’t miss your chance to fulfill your ethics requirements; offering 3 dual credits. See the full schedule of Ethics Roadshow stops in December.

'Tapas for Justice' Planned for Oct. 25 in Nashville

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 17, 2018
On Oct. 25, Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) will host its annual "Tapas for Justice" fundraiser, supporting JFON's efforts to help asylum-seekers, young DACA recipients, and families that have been separated from one another. The event will be held in Nashville at Bass Berry & Sims from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and will feature an art display of Amber Vongsamphanh's photography series "America the Beautiful." Tickets are $50 to attend and $100 to co-host.

Judge: Tennessee Can’t Revoke Licenses of People Who Can’t Pay Traffic Fines

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 17, 2018
A federal judge ruled yesterday that Tennessee can no longer revoke people’s driver licenses because they cannot pay traffic tickets, The Commercial Appeal reports. U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger issued the ruling in a class-action suit that could affect as many as 291,000 people. Trauger found that the suspensions did nothing to ensure people paid their debt, and said that the state didn’t offer any reason in their arguments that taking an indigent person’s license is an effective means to ensure debt collection. Hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans now have the right to seek reinstatement of their licenses.

TVA Official Refuses to Testify in Coal Ash Lawsuit

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 16, 2018
A former TVA spokesperson who made public claims that the Kingston coal ash sites were safe is refusing to testify on behalf of cleanup workers who are now sick, dying or dead, Knoxnews reports. Anda Ray says she will not voluntarily testify on behalf of the hundreds of workers who labored, unprotected, to clean up the coal ash spill at the TVA Kingston Fossil Fuel Power Plant. Phase one of the toxic tort lawsuit against the TVA contractor in charge of the cleanup began today.

Madison County Commission Votes to Approve Jail Renovations

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 16, 2018
The Madison County Commission voted last night to approve a $49.4 million renovation to its Criminal Justice Center, The Jackson Sun reports. The renovations will add 524 beds as well as expand the kitchen and laundry facilities. 

Bradley County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 16, 2018
On Oct. 15, Bradley County lawyer Douglas Neil Blackwell, II received a Public Censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Blackwell accepted a refundable retainer fee from a client in a conservatorship proceeding without depositing the fee into his client trust account until earned. Blackwell failed to diligently represent his client’s interest and failed to properly communicate with his client. Blackwell failed to include critical documentation with legal pleadings. After he was removed from representation, Blackwell failed to provide his former client with the client file. Blackwell’s fee affidavit was found to be unreasonable and based upon misrepresentations.  

Davidson County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Oct 16, 2018
On Oct. 15, Davidson County lawyer Wendell Cornelius Dawson received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Dawson represented a client applying for cancellation of removal before the immigration court. Although Dawson presented documentation to the court concerning his client’s presence in the United States, he failed to call any witnesses other than his client at the final hearing to satisfy the significant burden of showing exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. Likewise, he did not diligently represent his client in his appeal. He did not meet with his client to discuss the appeal, and his brief was one page in which he generally argued, without citations to authority or the record, that his client had testified to his presence in the country and the hardship his children would suffer if he were removed from the United States.
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