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TOMORROW: Federal Practice Forum

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
Join the TBA Federal Practice Section for its annual CLE program on July 18 in Nashville. This program features presentations that are tailored to experienced federal court practitioners and those who are new to federal practice. Highlights include best practices for presenting a case in federal court, a panel discussion on how best to work with federal agencies, e-discovery and an update on Federal Probation Office policies and procedures.

TJC to Honor 'Mothers of the Year' at Free Happy Hour in Knoxville

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
The Tennessee Justice Center is hosting a free happy hour reception in Knoxville from 5:30 – 7 p.m. on Thursday. The event, held at 1312 Edinburgh Place, will honor the TJC’s East Tennessee Mothers of the Year. RSVP here.

Public Television Station to Stream Screening of Legal Help Doc Tomorrow

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
Nashville Public Television will host a Facebook live screening of the Aging Matters: Legal Help documentary tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. Joining NPT in the comments section will be Sonya Bellafant, who is featured in the program and is the director of the Tennessee Senior Law Alliance. Click here to receive a reminder when the event goes live.

Judge Slone Given NCSC Distinguished Service Award

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
Fourth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Duane Slone, whose groundbreaking work in the courtroom has given new hope to many battling addiction issues, was recently honored with the National Center for State Courts Distinguished Service Award. NCSC President Mary McQueen presented Judge Slone with the award during the Tennessee Judicial Conference earlier this month. McQueen cited Judge Slone’s close involvement with the NCSC-coordinated, multistate Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative (RJOI). Judge Slone serves as the chairman of that first-of-its-kind undertaking, which McQueen said is now being emulated by other states and regions.

Federal Law Barring Trademarks for ‘Immoral or Scandalous’ Ideas Struck Down

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with a Los Angeles designer who sought to trademark "FUCT" for his clothing line but was blocked by a federal law prohibiting registration of "immoral or scandalous" ideas, ABC News reports.  Justice Elana Kagan wrote the majority opinion, saying the law violates the First Amendment. Judging which ideas are “immoral or scandalous” is highly subjective and potentially discriminatory, Kagan wrote.

SCOTUS Shoots Down Tougher Sentences for Gun Crimes

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the high court’s liberals to strike down a law that calls for longer sentencing when a person uses a firearm in connection with a “crime of violence,” Fox News reports. Writing the majority opinion, Gorsuch said the stated definition of a “crime of violence” – that is, a felony “that by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense” – was confusing and vague.

Services Monday for Roane County Lawyer Polk Cooley

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 21, 2019
Roane County attorney J. Polk Cooley died on June 19, at the age of 93. A Rockwood native, Cooley practiced law for 72 years, almost all of it in Roane County. He served in World War II in the U.S. Navy Corps, and took advantage of the GI Bill to pivot to the University of Tennessee College of Law. He passed the bar at the age of 21. One of his first cases was serving as co-counsel to Howard Baker Sr. and his son, future U.S. Sen. Howard Baker Jr., to help his own father, John Lewis Cooley, sidestep a murder conviction. A celebration of life will be held on June 24 at 6 p.m. at the First Christian Church in Rockwood. There will be a reception immediately following in the Fellowship Hall.

Lt. Gov. to TVA: Keep Bull Run Open, Move Coal Ash

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 21, 2019
In a letter to the Tennessee Valley Authority, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally urged the electricity provider to reverse its decision to shut down the Bull Run coal-fired power plant in Anderson County, Knoxnews reports. TVA announced earlier this year it was closing the plant — located on the Clinch River in the heart of the Claxton community. TVA cited a drop in demand for electricity produced by burning coal and said it would close the plant by 2023. McNally also said he thinks TVA should dig up the coal ash in its unlined pits and either sell the ash or store it in lined landfills away from the Clinch River and other water sources.

SCOTUS Strikes Down Conviction of Mississippi Man Who Spent 22 Years on Death Row

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 21, 2019
The Supreme Court has struck down the conviction of an African American death row inmate who was prosecuted six times for the same crime and by the same prosecutor, a man with a history of racial bias in jury selection, NPR reports. Curtis Flowers has spent 22 years on death row in Mississippi. In his cases, the same prosecutor struck 41 of 42 prospective black jurors. Writing for the court's 7-2 majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, "The numbers speak loudly. Over the course of the first four trials, there were 36 black prospective jurors against whom the State could have exercised a peremptory strike. The State tried to strike all 36."

First Jury Trial to Use Family Tree DNA Begins in Washington State

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 21, 2019
Jurors this week heard during opening statements about the mysterious final days of a young Canadian couple killed in 1987 — as well as the novel method authorities used to finally make an arrest three decades later, the Associated Press reports. William Earl Talbott II was arrested last year and charged with aggravated murder after authorities said they used genetic genealogy to identify him as the person who left his DNA on the clothing of one of the victims. The practice involves identifying suspects by entering crime-scene DNA profiles into public databases that people have used for years to fill out their family trees.
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