The Knoxville Bar Association will honor the Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court and other local judiciary at the upcoming annual Supreme Court Dinner. Guest speaker Lieutenant Joe Kenda will share his experiences from more than two decades of homicide investigations with the Colorado Springs Police Department. The dinner is planned for Sept. 9 at the Knoxville Convention Center Ballroom. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals is affirming an Aug. 14 court ruling that determined the statute of limitations did not run out for a Rutherford County resident to sue a gun manufacturer over a land-sale breach-of-contract argument. Brenda Benz sued Ronnie Barrett in 2008 for failing to provide access to her land three years after she sold him the property for the expansion of Barrett Firearms. "It's been a long and arduous process, but the court got it right from the very beginning," Benz said in the Murfreesboro Post. The Court of Appeals also decided Benz never wavered in her request for land to provide access to her property.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Mitchell Stanley Givens Jr. from the practice of law Aug. 13 for one year with 30 days to be served as a suspension and the remainder served on probation. The BPR filed a petition against Givens alleging the Washington county attorney misrepresented himself online as a Supreme Court Rule 31 listed mediator and failed to promptly distribute settlement proceeds to his client. Read the BPR release.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended the law license of William Caldwell Hancock on Aug. 17 for one year and ordered Hancock to pay restitution in the amount of $22,126. The BPR filed a Petition for Discipline against Hancock after determining he pursued a frivolous lawsuit with the intent to embarrass a third party. Read the BPR release.

Prosecutorial misconduct and errors are behind three of the four recent cases overturned by The Tennessee Supreme Court of Appeals, The Tennessean reports. Legal analysts cited by the newspaper said it was also a large number of cases to be overturned in roughly one month. The cases were State of Tennessee v. Adam Wayne Robinson, State of Tennessee v. Deandre D. Rucker, State of Tennessee v. James Thomas Jr, and State of Tennessee v. Donald W. Higgins, III. The court ordered new trials in three of the cases and threw out the conviction in a child neglect case.  

Former Vanderbilt University football star Cassen Jackson-Garrison was fired from the Oak Ridge Police Department following allegations that the officer had sex with a 16-year-old-girl while on duty. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Jackson-Garrison met the girl while responding to a domestic violence complaint at the teen’s home. Anderson County District Attorney Dave Clark said his office will be taking the case against Jackson-Garrison to the Anderson Grand Jury on Sept. 1.

In a comment filed today, the Tennessee Bar Association suggested clearer language could be used to revise Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 5.4, involving confidentiality guidelines for lawyers receiving ethical advice. The Board of Professional Responsibility filed a petition on June 18 citing concern that there may not be sufficient confidentiality protection under the existing rules. In its comment, the TBA recommended a revision of the BPR’s petition so that the rule will still permit lawyers receiving ethical advice to disclose information while maintaining confidential treatment of inquiries.

The Tennessee CASA 2015 Annual Meeting is planned for Sept. 22, 10 – 11:30 a.m. at the Nashville Public Library located downtown. Watch for more information.

Chattanooga attorney Terrence L. Olsen of the Olsen Law Firm will be giving immigration law presentations to international students on Sept. 2 at Southern Adventist University, and on Sept. 3 at Chattanooga State Community College. Olsen will also present in Huntsville, Alabama, at a location later to be announced. Read more information on the program. 

The American Bar Association says lawyers may be able to use some type of crowdfunding to help with firm start-up expenses. The lending model may help recent grads with substantial loans to avoid further borrowing. A June 29 opinion by the New York Bar Association included five approaches to crowdfunding, moting that lawyers cannot use any funding that gives an investor an interest in the firm or a share of its revenue.