Defendant, Brandon Blount, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of aggravated burglary acting in concert with two or more other persons, a Class B felony, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, a Class D felony. He was sentenced by the trial court as a Range I offender to consecutive terms of eight years at 30% for the aggravated burglary conviction and three years at 100% for the firearms conviction.

Phyllis Randolph Frye, the first openly transgender judge in the nation, discusses her career as a Houston attorney and 40 years of activism in an article published in the ABA Journal. Frye, who worked as a civil engineer before attending law school on the GI Bill, also discusses “softening” her advocacy in the "post-Caitlin" age. 

A jury this week awarded railroad conductor Shawn Hall more than $2 million after he was struck by a train in Shelby County, even after determining that Hall was 50 percent responsible for the accident. Hall, who lost part of his leg and fractured both of his arms in the accident, argued Illinois Central Railroad Company was negligent because it failed to warn him of the unscheduled train that hit him. Read more from The Commercial Appeal. 

Facility dogs are permitted in courtrooms to aid in comforting witnesses, according to a ruling this week by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The decision came in an appeal brought by a convicted rapist who argued the trial court was wrong in allowing the facility dog to be present to comfort his underage victim. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft said that he will draft a jury instruction for use of comfort dogs in trials to present it at a June judicial conference, The Commercial Appeal reports. 

Kingsport attorney John P. Chiles died Tuesday (May 24) at the age of 73, the Johnson City Press reports. Chiles graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and began his legal practice in Kingsport in 1973, where he practiced for 40 years. Graveside services will be conducted on Friday, 1:30 p.m., at Oak Hill Memorial Park, 800 Truxton Dr. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Kingsport. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Mission Fund at First Baptist Church, 200 West Church Circle, Kingsport, TN. 38660.

The Tennessee Justice Center will host its annual reception in Nashville on June 17, 5-7 p.m., at the top of the Pinnacle Building, 150 3rd Ave. S., Ste. 2800. The free event will include stories from a TJC client and a volunteer attorney. Light refreshments and drinks will be served. Call TJC at (615) 255-0331 for more information. 

State Rep. Andy Holt posted a video to his Facebook page yesterday that shows the Dresden Republican burning a traffic camera ticket. Holt, who unsuccessfully attempted to outlaw all speed and red light cameras in Tennessee during the 2015 legislative session, argues cities and traffic camera dealers are violating state law. He encourages others on his website to throw their traffic camera tickets in the trash or – like him – light them on fire. 

Campbell County attorneys Conrad Mark Troutman and Wesley Lynn Hatmaker were indicted on theft charges after a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation revealed each had stolen money from clients' trust accounts, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The pair have each been charged with one count of theft over $250,000, as well as additional charges. The Tennessee Supreme Court previously temporarily suspended Troutman and Hatmaker.

The Oregon State Bar will not pursue a complaint against the lawyers for Ammon Bundy, the man who earlier this year led an armed takeover at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. A district attorney had claimed Bundy’s lawyers made prejudicial statements about the case outside of court that could impair a proceeding, OregonLive reports. The bar’s assistant general counsel noted the lawyers had given media interviews about the federal conspiracy and weapons case pending against Bundy, but ultimately decided the pair did not violate the state’s pretrial publicity rule. 

The trial court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss on the basis of prior suit pending and dismissed the plaintiff's lawsuit. Discerning no error, we affirm.