Appellant, Phillip Serpas, entered guilty pleas to two counts of unlawfully obtaining a prescription for controlled substances by fraud, Class D felonies, and one count of conspiracy to obtain or attempt to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, a Class E felony. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to concurrent terms of two years each for the Class D felonies and one year for the Class E felony.

According to the allegations of the pro se post-conviction petition, the Petitioner, Timothy Coleman, pleaded guilty to initiation of a process to manufacture methamphetamine and received a nine-year sentence. He alleged that the date of the judgment was March 7, 2014, and that no appeal was filed. He filed a post-conviction petition on July 6, 2015, alleging that due process required tolling of the one-year post- conviction statute of limitations due to his mental incompetency. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition as time-barred.

This is a termination of parental rights case. The Department of Children?s Services (DCS) filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of A.C.P. (Mother) with respect to her three minor children, ages twenty-two months to six years at the time of trial. The trial court found clear and convincing evidence of grounds. The court found the same quantum of evidence supporting the conclusion that termination of Mother?s rights is in the children?s best interest.1 Mother appeals. As modified, we affirm the trial court?s judgment.

This action concerns a petition to set aside a tax sale as void for lack of notice to the original property owner. The purchaser of the property filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the original owner was not entitled to notice, that the petitioner received actual notice as the current owner, and that the petition was untimely. The petitioner countered with a motion for summary judgment. Following a hearing, the trial court dismissed the petition, finding that the petitioner received actual notice of the sale and that the time for filing such actions had passed. The petitioner appeals.

This action concerns a petition for custody filed by the maternal grandmother of three minor children. The juvenile court denied the petition, and the circuit court affirmed the denial on appeal following a de novo hearing. The maternal grandmother now appeals to this court. We dismiss the appeal in light of the adoption of the children during the pendency of this appeal.

Appellant stands convicted of possession with the intent to sell not less than one-half ounce but not more than ten pounds of marijuana, a Class E felony; possession with intent to sell a schedule IV controlled substance,1 a Class D felony; possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony,2 a Class D felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court imposed partially consecutive sentences, for an effective sentence of five years.

The defendant, Chuncy Lesolue Hollis, whose original first degree premeditated murder conviction was reversed by this court due to an error in jury instructions, was again convicted by a Gibson County jury in a second trial of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The LSAT profiles of current law students suggest the decline in bar-exam and bar-pass rates will continue through 2018, the ABA Journal reports. The analysis shows that current law students who will graduate through 2018 had lower LSAT profiles as entering law students than the previous two graduating classes. That trend does appear to be ending. The number and quality of law school applicants appear to be on the upswing this year, law professor Jerry Organ says. “If these trends continue, the fall 2015 entering class may represent the ‘bottom.’”

The state Supreme Court temporarily today suspended Campbell County lawyer Wesley Lynn Hatmaker upon finding that he has misappropriated funds and poses a threat of substantial harm to the public. Hatmaker is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases, and he must cease representing existing clients by Feb. 28. Read the BPR release.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday publicly censured Maury County attorney R. W. Hardison. Haridson in 2014 continued to work in his law office and perform legal activities despite the fact that his law license had been suspended for failing to comply with continuing legal education requirements. He was also discharged by clients after his communication with clients declined. Read the BPR release.

Monroe County attorney Barry Keith Maxwell was also publicly censured by the Court on Thursday after continuing to practice law while his license was suspended. Maxwell was suspended in August 2015 after failing to comply with continuing legal education requirements. Read the BPR release.