Articles

All Content

5,138 Posts found
Previous • Page 8 of 514 • Next

Civil Rights Groups Sue Over New Voter Registration Law

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 19, 2019
Several voter registration organizations are asking a judge to stop Tennessee’s new restrictions for signing up voters from taking effect in October, saying the law has already curtailed their ability to enroll voters in communities of color and other historically disenfranchised groups, the Associated Press reports. In a Nashville federal court filing Friday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law wrote that Tennessee’s new law has left the groups that filed the lawsuit with the choice of either halting or significantly scaling back voter registration efforts ahead of the 2020 elections because of the financial risks and exposure to possible criminal prosecution.

Study Shows Sentencing Gap Closing

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2019
A new study shows disparities in sentencing based on race are on the decline, the ABA Journal reports. One reason for the decline at the federal level was the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the disparity in sentences for crack vs. powder cocaine, according to one of the study's authors. The data was mixed on the sentencing gap between Latinos and white people at the federal level. The gap declined only when noncitizen Latinos were excluded from the data.

Tennessee Executes Death Row Inmate Stephen Michael West

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2019
Tennessee executed death row inmate Stephen Michael West last night, marking the third time the state has used the electric chair in less than a year, the Tennessean reports. He was pronounced dead at 7:27 p.m. CDT, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction. West was the 137th person put to death in Tennessee since 1916, and the fifth inmate executed since August 2018.

Madison County to Increase Budget for Lawsuit Against Sheriff

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2019
Madison County Commissioners are expected to vote on a budget amendment that would increase its attorney budget to $90,000 to pay for its lawsuit with Madison County Sheriff John Mehr, the Jackson Sun reports. Mehr sued the county in July for a lack of funding after the commission approved a $22.2 million budget for his office, while he wanted $25 million to pay for salary increases and to cover rising costs at the jail. The vote will take place at the commission's Aug.19 meeting.

Former Rutherford Sheriff to Complete Sentence in Nashville Halfway House

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2019
Former Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold returned to Middle Tennessee yesterday to complete his prison sentence in a Nashville halfway house, the Daily News Journal reports. Arnold was sentenced to about four years in federal prison in May 2017, stemming from his guilty plea for operating an illegal business selling e-cigarettes to inmates. Arnold's current sentence is scheduled to end April 15, 2020.

Supreme Court Considers Changes to Rule 25

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2019
The Tennessee Supreme Court is considering amending Rule 25, which concerns the manners in which the Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection (TLFCP) board members are allowed to officially communicate. The court seeks public comment on the proposed changes, which should be submitted by Sept. 16. Comments may be submitted to James M. Hivner, Clerk, Re: Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 25, section 5.03, Tennessee Appellate Courts,100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407, or email to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov.

Federal Court: Migrant Children Must Be Allowed Food, Soap, Toothpaste in Detention

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2019
Immigrant children detained by the U.S. government should get edible food, clean water, soap and toothpaste under a longstanding agreement on detention conditions, a federal appeals panel ruled yesterday in dismissing a Trump administration bid to limit what must be provided, the Associated Press reports. A three-judge panel for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco tossed out the U.S. government’s challenge to a lower court’s findings that authorities had failed to provide safe and sanitary conditions for the children in line with a 1997 settlement agreement.

Court Denies Jacobs Engineering Appeal Request in Coal Ash Spill Lawsuit

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2019
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied Tennessee Valley Authority contractor Jacobs Engineering’s request to appeal the lawsuit brought by cleanup workers from the Kingston coal ash spill, Knoxnews reports. Jacobs is accused of failing to protect workers hired to cleanup the 2008 spill, which left more than 400 workers sick or dead, and a trial court in one of the suits sided with the workers. Jacobs attacked the jury’s verdict and U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan’s verdict form as legally flawed and asked the 6th Circuit to hold a hearing on its complaints with both.

TALS to Honor McIver with Founder's Award at EJU

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 15, 2019

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) will present Harrison D. McIver III with the Founder’s Award, an honor it established for the purpose of recognizing McIver's contributions to Tennessee’s access to justice community during his 20-year tenure as chair of Equal Justice University (EJU) and tenure as Executive Director of Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS). The award will be presented on Aug. 29 during the Leadership Luncheon at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Murfreesboro. McIver recently retired as CEO of MALS, where his passion for diversity and inclusion, rigor in legal education programming and dedication to community building are embedded in the fabric of EJU, TALS' annual public interest conference.

Tennessee Ranks Near Top for Judicial Salaries

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 15, 2019

The National Center for State Courts has released its Judicial Salary Tracker for 2019, showing Tennessee judges coming in second in the nation for pay, after adjustments for cost of living. Only South Carolina pays its judges more. Southern neighbors Arkansas and Georgia rank at three and five, while Maryland, Oregon and Maine score at the bottom of the pack.

Previous • Page 8 of 514 • Next