This is a termination of parental rights case, focusing on D’Vante P., the minor child (“Child”) of Ashley C. (“Mother”) and Sylvester P. (“Father”). The Child was taken into protective custody by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) on October 27, 2010, following investigation of lack of supervision in the home. On October 10, 2012, DCS filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of both parents. The proceeding to terminate Father’s parental rights subsequently became a separate action, and Father is not a party to this appeal.

Petitioner, Cedric Earl Johnson, appeals from the trial court’s summary dismissal of his post- conviction petition. On October 11, 2010, judgments of conviction were entered against Petitioner pursuant to his negotiated guilty pleas to attempted first degree murder, aggravated robbery, and especially aggravated burglary. Petitioner received an effective sentence of twenty-five years of incarceration. On February 1, 2013, Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief.

Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin has granted a two-week delay in executions after Clayton Lockett, a convicted murderer, died of a heart attack during a botched lethal injection execution. CNN reports that Lockett’s vein "exploded" in the middle of his execution, prompting authorities to abruptly halt the process and call off another execution later in the day as they try to figure out what went wrong. Gov. Fallin has called for an independent review of the state's execution protocols, WRCB reports.

A forum with candidates for area judicial positions will be held tomorrow night at 7 in the Bradley County Commission meeting room at the Bradley County Courthouse. The event is sponsored by the Bradley County Bar Association, Cleveland Lions Club and the Rotary Club of Cleveland. This session also serves to recognize Law Day, proclaimed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 to honor the role of law in the creation of the United States. The Cleveland Banner has more.

The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments will consider eight applicants when it meets May 16 in Memphis to select nominees for the Court of Appeals vacancy created by Judge Holly M. Kirby’s appointment to the Tennessee Supreme Court. The candidates are Kenny W. Armstrong, Frank S. Cantrell, Oscar C. Carr III, Robert Lawson Childers, Stephen D. Crawley, Steven Wayne Maroney, Brandy Suzanne Parrish and Stacie S. Winkler. The applicants’ interviews are open to the public, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports.

Nine months after she was nominated, University of Memphis administrator Sheryl H. Lipman has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the newest federal judge for West Tennessee, the Commercial Appeal reports. The Senate today voted 95 to 0 to confirm Lipman, who President Obama nominated for the judgeship last August upon the recommendation of U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen. She replaces Jon McCalla, who announced last year that he was going on senior status.

The Supreme Court yesterday handed the Obama administration an important victory in its effort to reduce power plant pollution in 27 Midwestern and Appalachian states. In a 6-2 decision, the court upheld a rule adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2011 to limit emissions that create smog and soot that drift into the air above states along the East Coast. The decision caps a decades-long effort by the EPA to find a legally acceptable way to ensure that states don't contribute to pollution problems in downwind states, where environmental officials can do nothing to control it. Opponents argued the rule violated the intent of the Clean Air Act, which envisioned states and the EPA working cooperatively to rein in air pollution. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has more.

Judge Sophia Brown Crawford today presided over the swearing-in ceremony for 14 Whites Creek High School students into the Tennessee Youth Court Program, a juvenile delinquency intervention program initiated by the Tennessee Bar Association and funded by the state. The students, including three seniors, will get to hear their first case before graduation.

A challenge to Mike Pemberton’s candidacy as 9th Judicial District Court judge was tossed out in a 5-0 vote Monday by the Roane County Election Commission, Knoxnews reports. Willis Hall filed a complaint with the election commission contending Pemberton didn’t meet the residency requirements of living in the district for a year before the upcoming Aug. 7 election. The 9th Judicial District covers Loudon, Meigs, Morgan and Roane counties. Pemberton owns a home on Watts Bar Lake near Rockwood — within the judicial district — as well as a home in Knox County near his law office.

The Tennessean outlines the first quarter fundraising reports for the Sumner County judicial candidates. The newspaper profiles financial statements for Jan. 16 through March 31 for those running for Chancery Court judge, Circuit Court judge, General Sessions judge in Division II and Circuit Court clerk.