The Defendant, Rodney Stephens, was convicted by a Campbell County Criminal Court jury of aggravated stalking. T.C.A. § 39-17-315(c)(1)(E) (2010) (amended 2012). The court sentenced the Defendant to three years, with sixty days? confinement and the remainder to be served on probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred in allowing the trial to proceed despite the absence of a police officer and (2) the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore today ordered probate judges in the state not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, CNN reports. Moore said that the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage was targeted at Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee and that the Court did not specifically address the Alabama ban. 

The Hamilton County Commission voted today to move ahead with a $460,000 study aimed at replacing the downtown jail, The Chattanoogan reports. The Public Financial Management firm is looking at whether the county should place more prisoners with a private jail firm.

Defendant, June Curtis Loudermilk, appeals his sentence for driving under the influence (“DUI”), third offense, a Class A misdemeanor, which was imposed upon remand after this Court modified his original conviction for DUI, fourth offense, a Class E felony. He argues that the sentence is illegal because, during his first direct appeal, he completed a probationary period which exceeded the statutory maximum punishment for a Class A misdemeanor. We conclude that Defendant’s sentence is not illegal because he was not on probation pending the resolution of his direct appeal.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John Everett Williams reported to jury duty in Carroll County earlier this week. Williams, who was appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 1998, said this was his first time serving as a juror. “This experience made me proud of our American jurisprudence system. It reinforced that everything I had hoped was happening in our jury system was actually taking place,” he said.

The majority of lawyers are introverts, according to a study, and the ABA Journal says that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “Many lawyers spend a lot of time by themselves — reading, writing, thinking — compared to other jobs where the majority of the work is interacting. Introverts make good lawyers, especially for clients who want a thoughtful answer,” said Eva Wisnik, president of the firm that conducted the study.

The Tennessean reports the state plans to split West Tennessee State Penitentiary into a female facility and a maximum-security male facility. A memo by Department of Correction Commissioner Derrick Schofield said the changes are expected this spring at the penitentiary, located roughly 50 miles east of Memphis. "This mission change will assist in managing the growing female population and provide instant relief to our partners operating county jails," Schofield said in the memo.

The U.S. House of Representatives returned to work Tuesday and McClatchy DC offers this look ahead at Congress’ agenda, including health care, Syrian refugees, gun control and criminal justice reform. “Revamping the nation’s criminal justice system may be one of the few areas where the political parties and differing ideologies find common ground. And it will be difficult,” the author writes.

Retired Army colonel Sam Whitson announced he will challenge House Majority Whip Jeremy Durham for his seat, The Tennessean reports. "Our citizens must have a state representative with character, courage and a total commitment to our county rather than any personal or future political ambition," Whitson said in an e-mail announcing his campaign. Durham, R-Franklin, faces a GOP caucus meeting next week to determine if he will keep his leadership position. A grand jury declined in December to investigate Durham on prescription fraud charges.

The reopening of a case of a refugee convicted for child neglect has drawn critique from Nashville Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn. According to The Tennessean, Blackburn said “that the state did not fulfill its role to defend convictions because prosecutors agreed with defense attorneys that the case should be reopened even before going before a judge.” Blackburn also cited multiple conflicts of interest among prosecutors and defense attorneys.