Defendant, Jerome Sanders, was indicted for first degree murder, first degree felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery for his role in the robbery and shooting death of Martin Webster in Memphis in 2010. A jury found Defendant guilty as charged. The trial court merged the first degree murder conviction with the felony murder conviction and sentenced Defendant to life in prison for the felony murder conviction and to twenty- five years for the especially aggravated robbery conviction. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Hawkins County lawyer John Stephen Anderson Dec. 22 from the practice of law in two disciplinary cases. In the first case, Anderson agreed to a suspension of one year and payment of restitution for two clients. In the second case, Anderson agreed to suspension for five years, to be served consecutive to the suspension in the first matter, and payment of restitution to 12 clients. Anderson failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness, failed to obtain written waivers from former clients regarding a conflict of interest and made false statements and material misrepresentations to the Court and his clients. Read the BPR release.

Former Knox County judge Richard Ray Ford died in Dandridge on Dec. 20. He was 93. Ford graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and practiced for 20 years before his election as judge for Division II of Knox County Criminal Court, where he served from 1970-1982. Visitation will be Dec. 26 from 10 a.m. to noon at Rose Mortuary Broadway Chapel in Knoxville. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. Read his obituary in the News Sentinel.

Ethical campaign courses are now available online from the Tennessee Bar Association. The TBA CLE programs offer guidance for state and local lawmakers, judges, candidates for executive, judicial or legislative positions, and campaign chairs and their counsel. Topics include finance compliance, election law and ethics.

Appellants, Travis Boyd and Rodriccus Funzie, were jointly indicted and tried for first degree murder. Upon verdicts of guilty as to each appellant, the trial court imposed a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Appealing their convictions, both appellants challenge the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court?s admission of recorded jail conversations.

The Tennessean reports the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development denied two records requests by Metro Nashville officials for wage and employment data. Metro officials are seeking the information for use in its plans to create a new affordable housing policy. State attorneys argue that the data is confidential information that state labor workers cannot disclose under federal law. “We’re trying to create affordable housing where the jobs are, and for us to really understand where the jobs are, we need the most up-to-date data. And they’re not willing to share that data with us,” Metro Planning Department Executive Director Doug Sloan said.

Former Crossville attorney Anthony Wayne Turner pleaded no contest to setting fire to personal property in an arson case. He is accused of being responsible for a fire that destroyed his sister's Cumberland County home, the Crossville Chronicle reports. Turner, whose law license was suspended in 2009 by the Tennessee Supreme Court, received a one-year suspended sentence to be served on supervised probation. 

The Knoxville Bar Association compiled the inclement weather policies for federal courts, appellate courts and courts in Knox County and surrounding counties. View the the policies here.

The American Bar Association highlights how employers and employees across the country are dealing with laws permitting marijuana use. Marijuana use is now permitted in 23 states and the District of Columbia, according to Governing magazine. “I think there’s mass confusion,” Chicago attorney Lori Ecker said. “The core problem is that marijuana continues to be a Schedule I drug according to federal drug law. That’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room."

Several hip-hop artists filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of a Mississippi high school student suspended for posting a rap song on social media. The song threatened two coaches and accused them of sexual misconduct. “The government punished a young man for his art — and, more disturbing, for the musical genre by which he chose to express himself,” the brief says. Read more from The New York Times [subscription required].