District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said he will not appear before the Chattanooga City Council next week, despite the council's motion to issue a subpoena to him. The council is seeking answers from Pinkston regarding his lack of involvement in the city’s anti-gang initiative. Pinkston, who this week launched his own anti-gang task force, said the council members have no way to enforce the order. Read more from the Times Free Press.

The amount Tennessee meningitis patients will recoup in a $200 million settlement fund that stems from a 2012 outbreak remains unknown at this time, The Tennessean reports. The settlement comes as part of Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center’s bankruptcy filing, the company linked with contaminated steroid medicine that was used in spinal injections as pain treatment. Several Tennessee companies are named as defendants in the suit. Sixteen Tennesseans died as a result of the outbreak. 

A student at Anderson County Career and Technical Center, who reportedly had part of his left thumb amputated, filed a lawsuit against a teacher and the Anderson County Board of Education. The complaint alleges he was not properly taught and supervised how to use a grinder. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the student is seeking compensatory damages "not to exceed the lesser or $500,000.00, or the applicable limits of liability for Anderson County."

Law Technology Today shares “10 Things Attorneys Should Know About Digital Forensics,” including information on forensic copy, encryption and pricing. "The scope and cost of the analysis often depends on the nature of the case, so it is very important for the forensic examiner to have a clear understanding of what the case is about," the author writes. 

The Nashville Business Journal shows the Tennessee Bar Association remains the state's largest association serving traditional professions. Information was obtained from association representatives and association websites.

The defendant, Christopher Fralix, pled guilty to one count of robbery, a Class C felony, and one count of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony, in exchange for an effective sentence of six years. The trial court denied all forms of alternative sentencing and ordered the defendant to serve his sentence in incarceration. He now appeals, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion in denying an alternative sentence. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant, Stephanie Lynn Bickford, pled guilty to statutory rape, a Class E felony, in exchange for a one-year sentence on probation. The trial court ordered that the defendant was required to register as a sex offender, a decision the defendant now appeals. On appeal, the defendant also argues that this court should review the trial court’s decision using a de novo with a presumption of correctness standard of review, rather than an abuse of discretion with a presumption of reasonableness standard. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Timothy L. Jefferson (“the Petitioner”) appeals from the summary dismissal of his Petition for Writ of Certiorari and Supersedeas (“the Petition”) for failure to make partial payment of the initial filing fee. Upon review, we hold that the Petitioner filed sufficient documentation to show that he was unable to make partial payment of the initial filing fee. However, we conclude that the trial court properly dismissed the Petition because the writ of certiorari is not available in this case. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Gary Wayne Garrett, is serving an effective sentence of 119 years, following his convictions in 1986 for sixteen felonies. Pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, the defendant filed a motion to correct what he views as sentences which are illegal because the trial court failed to award proper jail credits, and the court then entered an order providing the defendant with jail credits from October 31, 1985, until October 10, 1986.

Patrick Rico Edwards (“the Petitioner”) appeals from the denial of his petition for post- conviction relief. On appeal, the Petitioner argues (1) that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to present at the sentencing hearing expert testimony about the Petitioner?s mental health; and (2) that his plea was unknowing and involuntary. Additionally, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court?s failure to make findings of fact and conclusions of law about the voluntariness of his plea constitutes reversible error.