Attorney Peter Strianse on Monday requested a change of venue for Wendy Askins due to the “intense amount of pre-trial media coverage,” the Herald-Citizen reports. Askins was indicted in 2013 on charges of theft and forgery surrounding the “Living the Dream” project, which was intended to provide housing to low-income seniors. Michael A. Meyer of the Attorney General's special litigation division argued, “(Askins) has not identified any particular story as being inflammatory and has offered no evidence that any of the media coverage has in fact aroused emotions to the point to where she cannot receive a fair trial.”

Attorney Randall Kinnard said employees at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University did not use common sense when giving Erin Andrews’ room information to Michaell David Barrett, the man who in 2008 secretly made nude recordings of Andrews through a peephole. The two-week trial is underway in Nashville as Andrews seeks $75 million. Marc Dedman, attorney for the Marriott, argued Barrett is to blame, not the hotel. The Tennessean reports Dedman added that Andrews’ career has “thrived” after the videos were posted. The Tennessean offers live coverage of the trial. 

Chancellor Mike Moyers admitted that he struggled with his decision Monday to dismiss a lawsuit by Mount Olive Baptist Church members trying to oust their pastor. “As much as it troubles me, the Tennessee cases are clear again and again and again that we cannot intervene,” Moyers said. The Knox County church solicited the help of the court in July after the congregation voted they no longer wanted Rev. Valentino McNeal to lead their church, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Church members said they will appeal Moyers’ decision.

Retired Shelby County Judge Ann Pugh, one of the area’s first female judges, died Tuesday. She was 70, The Commercial Appeal reports. An Arkansas native, Pugh was a teacher before attending law school. After serving on the City Court, Pugh served four terms on the General Sessions Criminal Court bench. She also led a specialized court handling domestic violence cases. Pugh retired in 2010 after 32 years. “She cared very deeply about the system and the courtroom, the victims that appeared before her and the defendants charged with the crimes,” said Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich.

The petitioner, Courtney R. Logan, filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus challenging the legality of his extradition from Tennessee to Mississippi nearly four years after the extradition. The trial court summarily dismissed the petition, and the petitioner now appeals. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Defendant, Donald Biggs, alias, appeals as of right from his guilty-pleaded convictions for four counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of theft by shoplifting, and one count of attempted aggravated robbery. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-12-101, -13- 402, -14-103, -14-105, -14-146. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to twenty-two years each on two aggravated robbery convictions. The trial court ordered that the Defendant serve these two sentences consecutively.

Tanisha M. (“Mother”) appeals the order of the Juvenile Court for Knox County (“Juvenile Court”) terminating her parental rights to the minor children A?Leah M. (“the Older Child”) and Sh Myah M. (“the Younger Child” or collectively “the Children”) for abandonment by willful failure to pay child support pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1- 113(g)(1) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-102(1)(A)(i), for failure to comply with a permanency plan pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(g)(2), and for persistent conditions pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(g)(3).

Aggrieved of his Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions of three counts of aggravated robbery, the defendant, Travis Seiber, appeals, arguing that he was deprived of the right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury, that the trial court erred by permitting the State to use as a demonstrative aid a gun that had not been entered into evidence, and that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The petitioner, Jurico Readus, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions of felony murder and attempted especially aggravated robbery. Discerning no error, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

This is an appeal from a detainer warrant action originally filed in the general sessions court by the purchaser of residential property at a foreclosure sale. The defendant in the detainer action appealed the general sessions judgment to circuit court and filed a third party complaint against the mortgage company. The trial granted the mortgage company?s motion to dismiss. After a trial de novo, the trial court awarded the purchaser of the property possession of the premises.