We granted this appeal to reconsider our decision in State v. Moats, 403 S.W.3d 170 (Tenn. 2013), which held that the community caretaking doctrine is not an exception to the federal and state constitutional warrant requirements. Having concluded that Moats was wrongly decided, we overrule Moats and hold that the community caretaking doctrine is analytically distinct from consensual police-citizen encounters and is instead an exception to the state and federal constitutional warrant requirements which may be invoked to validate as reasonable a warrantless seizure of an automobile.

The health care task force, created by House Speaker Beth Harwell in April, held its third meeting yesterday in Memphis. The Commercial Appeal reports task force chairman Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said the group will re-evaluate which parts of Gov. Bill Haslam’s Insure Tennessee Plan can be supported by the General Assembly after the full plan failed to win legislative approval. Sexton added the group, dubbed the “3-Star Healthy Project,” could attempt to ease restrictions on faith-based health care organizations. 

A new antidiscrimination rule proposed by the American Bar Association had drawn a mixed review in public comments from nearly 500 members of the legal community. The proposal would deem it “professional misconduct” for a lawyer to harass or discriminate based on factors such as race, sex, religion or socioeconomic status. The proposal drew mostly positive review reactions during a public hearing in February. However, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore criticized the proposal, saying it was “one more attempt to forcibly elevate sexual behavior, appetites, and self-styled identity to the level of unchanging characteristics.” Read more from The Wall Street Journal.

The Tennessean explores “privacy versus saving lives” as it reports the state prison system does not notify a victim who was raped by an inmate with hepatitis C.  At least 3,487 Tennessee inmates — about one in eight — have tested positive for hepatitis C. Health and legal experts suggest treating people with the condition in the prison system could potentially eliminate the disease in society altogether. 

A marker recently placed inside the doors of the Tennessee Supreme Court Building in Nashville notes the building’s place on the National Register of Historic Places. The building, completed in 1937, was constructed as the first building specifically for the Supreme Court’s use. 

Plaintiff/Appellant appeals from the dismissal of his civil rights claims based upon the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations contained in Tennessee Code Annotated Section 28-3-104. Because Appellant?s complaint, taken as true at the motion to dismiss stage, sufficiently alleges post-contract formation conduct on the part of the Defendants/Appellees, we conclude that the four-year federal catchall statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 1658 applies to Appellant?s claims in this case.

The Blount County Youth Court program recently recognized its six outgoing seniors who have sat on the jury, The Daily Times reports. Youth court jurors, comprised of local high school students, hear court cases involving select nonviolent juvenile offenders. “One thing I learned: Do not judge a book by its cover,” said senior member Katie Cohen. The Blount County Youth Court was founded in 2013 in part by Cohen’s mother, attorney Lynn Peterson. Learn more about Youth Courts in Tennessee.

The Washington County Public Defender’s Office has moved to 1102 Sunset Drive in North Johnson City. Johnson City Press reports the office’s landlines are not completely installed, but Public Defender Jeff Kelly said those who need the office may call 423-434-6845 and they will be given the cell phone number of an attorney. 

The ABA Journal explores the legality of nursing homes ejecting patients who are considered undesirable. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program found eviction and discharge complaints have increased about 57 percent since 2000. The article highlights a California case where the family of an ousted patient appealed to the health department and won, yet the nursing home still refused to readmit the patient. 

In this interlocutory appeal, the employee, a truck driver, injured her shoulder when she slipped getting out of the employer’s truck after checking the on-board computer system to determine whether she had been assigned a load. The employer denied the claim and terminated the employee for failing to report for work. Following an expedited hearing, the trial court found that the employee’s injury arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of her employment and ordered medical benefits in the form of a panel of physicians.