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New Trial Set for November After Conviction Overturned

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 18, 2017
Tony Bigoms, a man convicted of murder in 2014 but granted a new trial, pleaded not guilty in Hamilton County Criminal Court this week, the Time Free Press reports. The Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals reversed his conviction of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, citing issues with jury sequestration and the local judge’s decision to allow testimony about a different murder for which Bigoms was acquitted. He will next appear in court on Nov. 1.

ACLU Won’t Defend Armed Protestors

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 18, 2017
The American Civil Liberties Union won’t defend the right of hate groups to march if they bring firearms with them, the ABA Journal reports. Despite the ACLU’s Virginia chapter arguing for the rights of white supremacists to rally and exercise free speech, ACLU executive director Anthony Romero clarified that the group will consider potential violence before representing clients on First Amendment issues. Armed protestors can suppress free speech by intimidation, Romero noted.

Inventor Legal and Business Boot Camp in Knoxville

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 18, 2017

See how inventors and lawyers interact and learn at this unique CLE held in Knoxville on Sept 20. Find out about TBA’s patent pro bono program and connect with panelists, attorneys, makers, inventors, entrepreneurs and community leaders during the reception.

Services Sunday for Nashville Attorney, Community Leader

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017
Services will be Sunday for Nashville lawyer Yvette Sebelist, who died Tuesday. She was 55. Sebelist graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1996, where she was president of the Law Women and staff editor for the Tennessee Law Review. She received an American Jurisprudence Award in Appellate Advocacy and the American Association of Women Lawyers Award. She worked as an immigration attorney with Sebelist Buchanan Law LLC, and served on a number of state, local and regional bar committees. She also served on numerous community nonprofit boards. Graveside services for Sebelist will be at the Temple Cemetery, 2001 15th Ave. North, at 12:30 p.m.

Tomorrow Last Day to Register for Equal Justice University

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017

Tomorrow is the last day to register for the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services’ annual Equal Justice University. Guest speakers this year include new TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson and TBA President Lucian Pera. Also scheduled to speak are Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins and Nicole Austin-Hillery, director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Washington, D.C. office. This year’s EJU will take place in Murfreesboro on Aug. 30 through Sept. 1.

ABA House Supports Ban on Mandatory Minimums

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017
The American Bar Association House of Delegates this week approved a resolution backing a ban on mandatory minimum sentences, the ABA Journal reports. The resolution opposes mandatory minimums in any criminal case and calls on Congress and state legislatures to repeal laws requiring them. Kevin Curtin of the Massachusetts Bar Association told the House that mandatory minimums have produced troubling race-based inequities.

Legal Trailblazer, 2 Others to be Honored by National Civil Rights Museum

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017
The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis will bestow the 2017 Freedom Award on three individuals, including one who won a landmark legal case and co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Commercial Appeal reports that Morris Dees, who won a $7 million judgment in a lynching case that bankrupted one of the largest Ku Klux Klan organizations, will be given the award, alongside South African freedom fighter Hugh Masekela and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest daughter, Bernice A. King. The 26h Annual Freedom Awards ceremony will be held on Oct. 19 at the Orpheum theater.

Memphis Community Legal Center to Host Fashion Fundraiser

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017
The Community Legal Center of Memphis will host a fashion-themed fundraiser next month called STRUT! 2017. The Sept. 21 event will feature a fashion show, wine pull, silent auction, giving wall and more. It will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz of Memphis dealership. Tickets are available here.

Supreme Court Backs UT Football Player’s Bid to See Social Media of Accuser

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the defense team for two University of Tennessee football players accused of rape, allowing them access to the text messages and social media of their accusers, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Defense attorneys for accused players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams argue that the accuser is lying, and what she and her friends said via the Internet will help prove it. The court’s decision has major implications for Tennessee trials of this nature going forward, making digital communication fair game as evidence.

Lawsuit Alleges White County Operated ‘Eugenics Scheme’

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017
A federal lawsuit has been filed against White County and several local officials for their role in allowing inmates to undergo birth control procedures in exchange for 30 days off their jail sentence, the Tennessean reports. White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe, Judge Sam Benningfield and sheriff’s deputy Donna Daniels were named in the suit, which alleges the practice amounted to a “modern day eugenics scheme” and violated inmates’ constitutional rights. The lawsuit also alleges that one woman who accepted the deal did not get time off of her sentence.
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