Articles

All Content

5,138 Posts found
Previous • Page 507 of 514 • Next

Suspect to Claim Self-Defense in Greene Shooting

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 8, 2016
The man accused of shooting former Metro Nashville Councilman and lawyer Loniel Greene will claim self-defense in the case. Brandon Hunt-Clark, 20, was charged in the Nov. 4 shooting of Greene outside a Nashville gas station. After being named as a suspect in the case, Hunt-Clark was arrested in Mississippi on an unrelated robbery charge, and was finally brought back to Nashville on Tuesday. Greene resigned from the council after the shooting after he was accused of lying in court. The Tennessean has more.

South Dakota Attorney Brings Attention to Forced Catheterization

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 8, 2016
A lawyer in Hughes County, S.D. is requesting a judge to remove test results obtained from his client through a forced urine sample, which was taken by police. The attorney for Dirk Landon Sparks, Jeremy Lund, claims that his client’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated and is shining a light on the practice of forced samples by police. In Lund’s May 16 motion, he argues that while a judge signed a warrant for a blood or urine sample, the warrant didn’t authorize Sparks to be strapped down and have a sample forcibly taken from him. The ABA Journal has more.

Seeking Shorter Sentences, Public Defenders Inundate Courts

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 8, 2016
Tennessee courts have seen hundreds of lawsuits recently from federal public defenders looking to shorten the sentences of current inmates, according to the Tennessean. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling from June of last year that limited which prior convictions qualified a person as a “career offender” and its one-year deadline is the cause of the recent flurry of lawsuits. Henry Martin, the federal public defender for the Middle District of Tennessee, said lawyers in his office filed motions to set aside the sentences in more than 140 cases. In East Tennessee, more than 220 similar motions were filed, according to Federal Community Defender Beth Ford. In West Tennessee, public records show more than 140 filings since May 1. David Rivera, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, said that prosecutors in his office would go through each appeal on a case by case basis.

Hamilton County Weighs ‘Safety Zone’ Measures Against Gangs

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 8, 2016
Hamilton County is considering using injunctions from judges to create “safety zones” that would prevent gang members from gathering, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said Wednesday that the measures would ban certain activities in neighborhoods around Chattanooga. The DA’s office has not yet decided exactly which activities would be prohibited or which geographic areas would be included. Thomas Castelli, legal director for the ACLU of Tennessee, said he believes that the orders could constitute a civil rights violation. Castelli said the courts should be “careful to use language that can’t be interpreted so broadly as to affect a current gang member’s ability to live an ordinary life.” Other Tennessee cities, including Memphis and Nashville, have used gang injunctions, which were made possible under a 2009 state law and strengthened in 2014.

Supreme Court Rules No Statutory Relief After Guilty Plea

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 7, 2016
A Tennessee Supreme Court ruling issued today held that defendants who have entered a guilty plea cannot seek statutory relief – only those found guilty at trial may do so under Tennessee law. Error coram nobis is a procedure that allows defendants to petition for a new trial if they believe there is new or newly discovered evidence that became available following the trial, and the court opined that this procedure cannot be invoked by a defendant who pled guilty. Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins authored the opinion. Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee filed a dissenting opinion, writing that a defendant who has pled guilty should not be denied the opportunity to challenge a conviction in the case of new evidence being discovered.

Online Discovery CLE Offerings

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 7, 2016
Did you miss the 2016 Discovery forum? You can still stream high-quality online videos on our website from the 2016 program. CLE sessions cover written discovery and its alternatives, e-discovery, the effective use of subpoenas, using criminal records, rule 30(b), and how to deal with difficult counsel in the discovery process.

UT Law Students Claim Victory in Appeals Case

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 7, 2016
University of Tennessee law school students arguing two cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit claimed a victory today. In an opinion issued by the court, the members of UT Law’s Appellate Litigation Clinic successfully argued that their client properly filed a habeas corpus petition under Kentucky state law, reversing the decision of the lower court. The Appellate Litigation Clinic students still await a decision in a second case that the group argued in March.

Brennan Report Highlights 'Gray' Political Funding

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 7, 2016
A recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice highlights the rise of "dark money" spending in local political elections, and how it relates to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision of 2010. One issue of concern is the phenomenon of “gray money," described as Super PACs that claim to disclose their donors receiving money from other PACs, thereby further complicating the identification of the source of funding. The Brennan Center’s findings include the analysis that only 29 percent of outside spending in 2014 was fully transparent in the states examined in the study, which is down from 76 percent in 2006.

Trial Court Vacancy Commission to Consider 30th District Applicants

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 7, 2016
Eleven applicants will be considered by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the 30th district circuit court vacancy, created after Judge Donna M. Fields announced her September retirement. The commission will meet on Aug. 8 to select nominees. The applicants from Memphis are Frank S. Cantrell, Margaret M. Chesney, Gwen Hewitt, Michael Wayne Mtichell, Regina Morrison Newman, Robert Bishop Rowling, David M. Rudolph and Mary L. Wagner. Gareth C. Leviton of Germantown also applied, as well as Lee Ann Pafford Dobson of Collierville and Gregory C. Krog Jr. of Cordova. Interviews and a public hearing will begin at 9 a.m. The commission is expected to vote immediately following the hearing and forward three names to Gov. Bill Haslam for his consideration.

Belknap Named New Butler Snow COO

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 7, 2016
Butler Snow LLP announced Wednesday that it had named L. Howard Belknap as its new chief operating officer, the ABA Journal reports. Belknap previously served as COO and executive director of Baker & McKenzie’s New York office, and also served as an officer in the U.S. Army prior to his legal career. Butler Snow employs more than 320 attorneys representing local, regional, national and international clients from 19 U.S. offices, including Memphis and Nashville.
Previous • Page 507 of 514 • Next