State lawmakers are debating a bill (HB 1096 / SB 1001) that would allow police to seize items only after an arrest has been made and would bar forfeiture of property until after a criminal conviction, the Kingsport Times-News reports. Under the measure, a defendant could petition the court to access seized assets to pay for his or her defense and would replace civil forfeiture with criminal forfeiture. Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus disagrees with the measure. “The current procedures we have in place on civil forfeiture in Tennessee protects sufficiently due process,” he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh judicial bias when it takes up an appeal from a Pennsylvania death row inmate claiming a state Supreme Court justice should have stepped aside from the case. The inmate argues the justice had previously signed off on his death penalty prosecution while serving as Philadelphia’s district attorney in the 1980s, the Associated Press reports. Philadelphia prosecutors argued the judge played a “fleeting part” in the decision to seek the death penalty. The High Court last issued a decision on judicial ethics in 2009.

The Nashville Bar Foundation is joining the effort to build a monument in honor of Adolpho Birch, the first African American to serve as Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. WKRN reports the total cost of the monument, along with a citywide celebration in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Justice A. A. Birch Building, is estimated at $150,000. A fundraising dinner is planned for Aug. 27 and sponsorships are available. The NBA is also accepting donations for the project. For more information, contact Judge Rachel Bell, 615-862-8341.

This appeal involves termination of a father?s rights to three children. The trial court found the father, who was incarcerated at the time of the final hearing, had abandoned the children by engaging in such conduct prior to incarceration as to exhibit a wanton disregard for their welfare, in that there was a history of domestic violence between the father and the children?s mother. Further, the father had violated his probation by failing a drug screen.

In 2006, Lamar Tennessee, LLC began the conversion of two of its billboards from ?vinyl-faced? to ?digital display? utilizing light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Before Lamar could complete these conversions, a sign inspector for the City of Knoxville issued a stop-work order on each of the billboards. A zoning inspector for the City, in her own name, subsequently filed a complaint against Lamar, grounded in Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-208(a)(2) (Supp.

Husband and Wife were married for a little over three years and had one child together when Husband filed a complaint for divorce. Wife wanted a prenuptial agreement, and Husband prepared and signed an agreement that he presented to Wife before the parties were married. Wife testified she signed the document Husband presented to her before the parties‘ marriage ceremony. Following a pretrial hearing, the trial court determined the prenuptial agreement was not valid.

This appeal arises out of suit brought to recover possession of a dog; the party which brought the suit has appealed to this court. The document filed by the Appellant fails to comply with Rule 27 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and renders this Court unable to review the resolution of the case in the trial court. We therefore affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

The National Jurist named the University of Tennessee College of Law to its 2016 “Best Law Schools for Practical Training” list for the number of students participating in externships, clinics and interscholastic skills competitions. “UT Law’s broad range of experience-focused offerings helps ensure that our graduates are fully prepared to meet the demands of the legal profession,” said Melanie D. Wilson, dean of the College of Law.

“MaKayla’s Law” (SB 2294 / HB 2058) would make it a violation for a Tennessee resident to leave a loaded firearm unattended and readily accessible to a child under 13. The measure, introduced today by Democratic lawmakers, is named after MaKayla Dyer, an 8-year-old Jefferson County girl killed in October by her 11-year-old neighbor. The juvenile, who killed Dyer with his father’s shotgun, was found guilty earlier this month of first-degree murder. The Knoxville News Sentinel summarizes the proposed violations, which range from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony.

Earn two CLE credits when you vote on the possible outcome of a torts and insurance case before the state Supreme Court in the TBA’s Supreme Court Fantasy Challenge. The case, Edward Martin v. Gregory Powers, Et Al., is an appeal in which the holder of an automobile liability insurance policy brought suit to recover for injuries sustained after being struck by a driver in a rental vehicle. The policy holder also sought coverage under the uninsured motorist coverage provision of his policy. Read the briefs, listen to oral arguments (available March 1) and then vote on how you think the court — or each individual justice — will rule.