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Student-coached Mock Trial Team Draws Respect

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 6, 2017
A Shelby County high school mock trial team competed in last month’s local competition without an attorney coach, shocking and impressing attorney scorers and judges, the Commercial Appeal reports. While the Germantown High School team won’t be advancing to the state finals in Nashville next weekend, the team did earn praise for its success while competiting in district rounds coached only by a fellow student, team member Pauline Mireles. The team hopes to have an attorney coach by next year since Mireles will be graduating in May.

Services Tomorrow for Former Legislator, Chancellor

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 6, 2017
Former Chancellor and state legislator Vernon Neal died on Friday. He was 85. Neal was a 1956 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law and enjoyed a long legal career in Cookeville. He was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1962 and was elected to state senate in 1966. He was elected as Chancellor of the 13th Judicial District in 1980, and served until 2005. The family will receive friends tonight at Cookeville First Baptist Church from 5 to 8 p.m. and again tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Funeral services will follow tomorrow at 11 a.m. The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Cookeville First Baptist Church’s Operation Christmas Child: Samaritans’ Purse.

Services Saturday for Nashville Attorney

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 6, 2017
Percy Wilkins Jr. died on Friday in Nashville. He was 83. Wilkins, a native of North Carolina, served in the U.S. Air Force and found himself in Tennessee when he was assigned to Stewart Air Force Base in Smyra. He was married to his wife of 62 years on the NBC television show Bride and Groom, and in 1957 he accompanied troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to integrate Central High School. Wilkins practiced real estate law until his retirement in 2004. Visitation will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a celebration of life to follow at 2 p.m. Donations may be made to Alive Hospice, the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands or Conexion Americas.

Knoxville Businessman Announces Gubernatorial Run

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 6, 2017
Knoxville businessman and former Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd announced his bid for the Republican nomination for governor today, the Nashville Post reports. Boyd has already named several seasoned Republican political operatives as staff. Sen. Mark Green announced his candidacy in January, and other GOP politicians are expected to also join the race.

LAW Chapter Opposes Judicial Elections Bill

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 6, 2017
Following previous announcements by the Tennessee Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association, the Lawyers’ Association for Women, Marion Griffin Chapter in Nashville has come out in opposition to a bill requiring non-partisan judicial elections in Shelby and Davidson counties. “LAW strongly opposes SB135/HB98 due to its selective application to only two counties in Tennessee and its effect of diminishing the authority of local jurisdictions in state and county judicial elections,” the group’s statement reads.

State Lacks Drugs for Lethal Injections

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 6, 2017
The Tennessee prison system doesn’t have the necessary drugs needed to carry out a lethal injection, the Tennessean reports. Currently executions are stalled as state judges weigh a challenge to protocol. Were executions to return without the drugs, Tennessee is one of only two states that could fall back on its backup plan – the electric chair.

Longtime Legislator Douglas Henry Dies at 90

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 6, 2017
Tennessee’s longest serving legislator Douglas Henry died yesterday in Nashville. He was 90. Henry, a conservative Democrat, was first elected to a House seat in 1954 and to the Senate in 1970. Educated at Vanderbilt Law, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. As a legislator, he spent many years as chair of the Senate’s Finance, Ways and Means Committee and was considered an “expert” on the state’s budget. Henry is remembered fondly by Democrats and Republicans alike, and was a mentor to many. “There will never be anybody else like Senator Henry in the Tennessee legislature,” Nashville attorney Bobby Thomas told the Tennessean. “He had no personal agenda and no personal ambition. He just wanted to do what all of our elected officials ought to do, and that's what's good for the public.” A public visitation is scheduled for Thursday on at Tennessee State Capitol from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and again at 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. A memorial service will take place Friday at 11 a.m. at the Downtown Presbyterian Church at 154 Fifth Avenue North.

Federal Review of Memphis Police to Continue

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 3, 2017
Despite a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice early Friday suggesting the opposite, a federal review of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) is still underway, the Commercial Appeal reports. After announcing that it would end the collaborative reform process, the DOJ reversed its decision Friday afternoon. The reason for the first announcement, according to a second statement by DOJ officials, was that the department had not received a signed memorandum of agreement (MOA) from the city of Memphis, which was required in order to proceed. After the MOA was confirmed to have arrived into federal hands, the decision was changed.

Registration Now Open for TBA 2017 Convention

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 3, 2017
Registration and programming information is now available for the 2017 Tennessee Bar Association Convention in Kingsport. TBA members should have received a link to register via email today with details. A glitch in a previous version of the link has been fixed and should now be operational.

Beavers Calls for Attorney General Elections

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 3, 2017
A Tennessee lawmaker wants the state attorney general to be elected by voters by 2024, the Lebanon Democrat reports. Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, has sponsored a joint resolution to amend the state’s Constitution to make the change, and the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it. In Tennessee the attorney general is appointed by the state Supreme Court for an eight-year term.
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