Morristown lawyer Beth Boniface has been selected by Gov. Bill Haslam to fill the vacant Third Judicial District Circuit Court judgeship created by the death of Judge Michael Faulk last November. The district includes Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins counties. The Greeneville Sun has the story.

The lead GOP sponsor of a sex trafficking bill that's stalled over abortion offered a new plan Tuesday to resolve the impasse, but Democrats immediately rejected it, leaving any resolution unclear. The continued gridlock promised to prolong a months-long delay in confirming President Barack Obama's attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch, since Senate Republican leaders have decided to hold up her vote until the trafficking bill is dealt with, TriCitiies reports from the Associated Press.

The Tennessee House of Representatives today voted to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee, the Tennessean reports. Although a GOP-led effort, House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, was one of 20 Republicans to vote against the measure. Attorney General Herbert Slatery earlier this week released an opinion saying that the measure would violate state and federal constitutions.

The 2014 charter class of Belmont University College of Law currently has an overall employment rate of 85.7 percent, the school announced. This rate bests the most recent national average of 84.5 percent, as compiled by the National Association of Legal Professionals.  “Seeing such impressive employment numbers, particularly from the College's charter graduating class, bodes well that our mission is being accomplished," Dean Alberto Gonzales said.

The plaintiffs sued the Metropolitan Government, claiming that prior citations that had been issued to them and paid by them were issued without authority and handled by the general sessions court without jurisdiction. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the government. The plaintiffs appealed, and we affirm.

Defendant, Derek C. Miller, appeals his conviction for attempted tampering with evidence. He argues that the trial court wrongly denied his motion for judgment of acquittal as to the charged offense of tampering with evidence because the evidence adduced by the State was insufficient to support this charge. According to Defendant, had the trial court not erred in denying his motion, the trial court would have been precluded from charging the jury with the lesser-included crime of attempt, of which Defendant was ultimately convicted.

This is a termination of parental rights case, focusing on Alexis B., the minor child (“the Child”) of Katie R. (“Mother”) and Johnny R.B. (“Father”). On August 26, 2013, the Child?s paternal grandparents, Johnny B. and Deborah B. (“Grandparents”), filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of both parents and adopt the Child. Father subsequently agreed to surrender his parental rights to the Child, and he is not a party to this appeal.

This divorce case involves issues of property classification, valuation, and division. The parties were married for fifteen years, with one child born of the marriage. At the time the parties married, the husband owned an interest in his family?s motorcycle dealership. The husband inherited remaining interests in that dealership from his parents during the marriage. At trial, the court found that the dealership was a separately owned asset that became marital property by reason of transmutation.

he trial court referred this divorce case to a Special Master, indicating that the issues to be decided by the Special Master would be determined by the parties. The Special Master limited her consideration to the valuation of the parties? property. The trial court subsequently entered an order purporting to resolve all the remaining issues in the case. However, the trial court failed to make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law in its written order. Accordingly, we vacate and remand for further proceedings.