Virgil Gammon, a former deputy chief in Rutherford County, filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the county and Sheriff Robert Arnold asking for reinstatement, along with compensatory and punitive damages. Gammon in the suit says he was terminated in September 2015 because of his “whistleblower activities” with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation regarding the sheriff’s activities. Arnold says Gammon was let go because “his services were no longer needed,” the Daily News Journal reports.

Dr. Bruce Rubinowicz, who formally operated several sleep labs in Middle Tennessee, faces five years in prison and a $25,000 fine after pleading guilty Friday to taking cash kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals. Rubinowicz admitted to agreeing to receive cash kickbacks in exchange for referring patients to Nashville-based Air Affiliates, a medical supplier. Bradley Sensing, owner of Air Affiliates, and Lane Wilkinson, owner of a Columbia-based medical equipment supply company, also pleaded guilty to federal charges in the schemes. Read more from the Brentwood Home Page.

The TBA Mentoring Program is seeking volunteer mentors across the state. Those participating in the program will commit to a formal mentoring relationship for one year, with a requirement to meet face-to-face at least once a month. Contact TBA staff member Kate Prince, 615-277-3202, for more information. 

Chancellor Claudia C. Bonnyman denied on Friday the state’s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the school districts in Hamilton and six nearby counties over the state’s Basic Education Program funding formula. However, the Nashville judge did dismiss the requested class-action status for the suit, which would have brought all 141 school systems into the lawsuit. If the school districts win the challenge, the state government may be required to spend at least half-billion dollars more each year, according to the Times Free Press. 

Jury selection began today in Nashville in a case involving TV personality Erin Andrews, WSMV reports. Andrews filed a $75 million lawsuit against the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University, the hotel ownership company and Michael Barrett after Barrett in 2008 made secret nude recordings of Andrews through a peephole in her hotel room. Barrett pleaded guilty in 2010 to stalking charges and was sentenced to 30 months in prison for creating the video.

Early voting in Tennessee for the March 1 presidential preference primary ends tomorrow. You can find your early voting and Election Day polling locations online. 

The Tennessee Faith and Justice Alliance (TFJA) will host training March 14 to prepare volunteer attorneys to assist low income Tennesseans in community specific high need areas of law. The training will focus on wills, expungements, landlord/tenant law, family law and civil general session issues. The training, scheduled from 10 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. Central Time at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, will offer five hours of CLE. Lunch will be provided. Online registration is $25.

The defendant, Keith Trammell, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of theft over $1000, a Class D felony; vandalism over $500, a Class E felony; and two counts of coercion of a witness, a Class D felony. The trial court sentenced him as a career offender to twelve years for the theft conviction, six years for the vandalism conviction, and twelve years for each of the coercion convictions.

Donald Wayne McCall (“the Petitioner”) filed a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The petitioner, Bobby J. Croom, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery convictions. The petitioner argues that he is entitled to relief because: (1) the State failed to make a proper election of offenses at trial; (2) his convictions violate double jeopardy; (3) his conviction for aggravated sexual battery violates due process; and (4) he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition.