Appellant, Marcus Traveno Cox, Jr., stands convicted (after merger of duplicate counts) of possession with intent to sell less than .5 grams of cocaine, possession with intent to sell more than one-half ounce but less than ten pounds of marijuana, possession of a Schedule III controlled substance (Lortab), possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a firearm with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony. The trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of nine years in the Tennessee Department of Correction.

Christopher Hammack (“the Defendant”) was indicted for one count of initiation of the process to manufacture methamphetamine (Count 1), one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony (Count 2), and one count of convicted felon in possession of a firearm (Count 3). The Defendant was convicted by a jury of the lesser included offense of facilitation of initiation of the process to manufacture methamphetamine in Count 1 and as charged in Count 2. A judgment of conviction was entered by the trial court in Count 3.

The Tennessean reports 178 people have applied to be Nashville’s next election administrator. Kent Wall, who currently holds the position, announced in January that he will retire after this month. The Davidson County Election Commission named Deputy Election Administrator Joan Nixon as interim administrator.

WKRN reports a jury of 10 men and 4 women were selected in Chattanooga for the retrial of Cory Batey, who has been out of jail since a mistrial was granted in June 2015. The former Vanderbilt football player faces five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Batey will face the jury in Nashville on April 4.

The ABA Journal highlights Belmont University College of Law’s high bar exam passage rate – a 94 percent rate by its first-time takers on the July 2015 exam – as bar exam rates nationwide have declined. Jeff Kinsler, Belmont law professor, attributes the success rate to the school’s bar review course, which includes lectures on the seven subjects tested and a comprehensive writing lab.

This interlocutory appeal involves an employee who was injured while in the course and scope of his employment and was subsequently terminated by the employer. The employee requested payment o f temporary disability benefits, which the employer denied on the basis it terminated the employee for cause and would have provided light duty work but for the termination. Following an expedited hearing, the trial court denied the employee's request for temporary disability benefits, finding the employee was terminated for cause. The employee has appealed.

Cancer Fund of America Inc., Cancer Support Services Inc. and their president, James Reynolds Sr., have reached a settlement in a massive fraud case against the Tennessee-based “sham charities.” The charities claimed to help cancer patients, but Reynolds spent the majority of donations on operators, family and trips. The $75.8 million settlement will be partially satisfied via liquidation of assets, and Reynolds will be required to surrender certain belongings. The settlement also bans Reynolds from profiting from any charity fundraising in the future. Read more from the Tennessee Secretary of State. 

In December 2012, the Maury County Grand Jury indicted Brandon Waire (“the Defendant”) on three counts of sale of cocaine over .5 gram within a drug-free zone. Following a trial, a jury convicted the Defendant as charged, and the trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective eight years? incarceration.

The House Civil Justice Committee yesterday failed to pass HB2558 by Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, that would have eliminated a cause of action against nursing homes in the form of a class action in the Tennessee Adult Protection Act. The measure’s companion, SB2063, by Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, was removed yesterday from the Senate Judiciary Committee calendar.

The Tennessean reports cell phone records released today from University of Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones reveal phone calls to police and players shortly after an alleged rape involving two members of the football team. The records do not reveal the content of the conversations, but do support a timeline outlined by former UT player Drae Bowles as part of a federal sexual assault suit against the school. Bowles said Jones told him he had “betrayed the team” by helping the woman who said she was sexually assaulted.