Defendant, James Hawkins, appeals his convictions for two counts of rape of a child. Defendant raises four issues: (1) whether there was a fatal variance between the original indictments and the offenses elected by the State; (2) whether the trial court erred by admitting the forensic interview of one of the victims; (3) whether the State failed to properly elect offenses; and (4) whether there was sufficient evidence to support his convictions beyond a reasonable doubt. Based upon our review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Nearly 10 percent of college graduates surveyed in a poll believe Judith Sheindlin, known as “Judge Judy” on her television show, serves on the U.S. Supreme Court. The poll, conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, also found that 60 percent of college graduates could not correctly identify a requirement for ratifying a constitutional amendment. Results from the poll are detailed by the council in "A Crisis in Civic Education." Read more from CNN.

WMCActionNews5 reports the Department of Justice is investigating the entire Memphis Police Department following the death of Darrius Stewart. The announcement was made by Stewart's family lawyer. Attorneys from the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced at the end of last year that it would conduct a review of the shooting.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that businesses cannot stop a class-action lawsuit by offering to pay the full amount sought by the original plaintiff, The Hill reports. The 6-3 decision stems from a suit in which Jose Gomez said Detroit-based Campbell Ewald Co. violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act when it sent messages to young adults about the U.S. Navy. Chief Justice John Roberts filed a dissenting opinion.

The Petitioner, Matthew B. Foley, appeals as of right from the Rutherford County Circuit Court‘s summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as untimely. He asserts that the statute of limitations should be tolled because he did not learn until well after its expiration that the State sought to enforce the provisions of the sexual offender registration act against him contrary to the terms of his plea agreement. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand the case for an evidentiary hearing.

The ABA Journal highlights a new paper, "The Declining Dominance of Lawyers in U.S. Federal Politics," which argues that fewer lawyers are participating in Congress because they are being “squeezed out” by those who have made politics a career. While nearly 80 percent of members of Congress were lawyers inthe mid-19th century, today that number is less than 40 percent. Nick Robinson, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School and author of the study, also says that financial incentives of corporate law practice may keep lawyers in private practice. 

RePublic Schools Nashville has been sued over a series of text messages that the charter organization allegedly sent in an effort to boost enrollment. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys from Branstetter, Stranch & Jenning, says RePublic violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act by allegedly sending messages through a commercial auto-dialing service without the consent of recipients. “The mass transmission of these messages displays a flagrant disregard for the prohibition against spam texting,” attorney Joe Leniski Jr. said. The lawsuit seeks an injuction to halt the practice. Read more from The Tennessean.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp on Friday partially dismissed a long-standing lawsuit over Tennessee’s treatment of people with disabilities following the state’s fulfillment of obligations outlined in an exit plan, the Associated Press reports. Advocates sued the state in 1995 over conditions at several state institutions. The Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Bureau of TennCare have since completed several obligations agreed upon in the exit plan, including developing training for law enforcement and physicians. The state’s last remaining obligation under the exit plan is to close the Greene Valley Development Center.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery may ultimately seek up to $250 million in the state’s lawsuit against Chevron, The Tennessean reports. The lawsuit, filed in September, alleges Chevron and its subsidiaries fraudulently siphoned more than $18 million from a state environmental cleanup fund. Lawyers for Chevron on Tuesday said the company should be removed from the lawsuit and accused state attorneys of “unnecessarily delaying” the case in its broad requests for evidence.

District Attorney Neal Pinkston named an "external citizen committee" to oversee the inventory and review the decades of unprocessed evidence discovered in November in Hamilton County. Nooga reports the unanalyzed evidence relates to homicides, suicides and accidental deaths that occurred between 1986-2002. "I guess it could potentially exonerate someone or make them more guilty, or it may have no effect at all," Pinkston said.