The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that the standard of appellate review for an alleged speedy trial violation is de novo with deference to the trial court’s factual findings. The court also concluded that the trial court in the case of State v. William Eugene Moon committed reversible error in allowing improper impeachment of a key defense witness at trial. Given these findings, the court reversed the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals, vacated the judgments of the trial court, and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings. Read more about the decision from the Administrative Office of the Courts or read the opinion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today denied a petition from the Nashville Bar Association (NBA) that would have required attorneys to annually complete two hours of CLE programming on diversity, inclusion, equity and elimination of bias. The NBA’s proposed amendment to Rule 21, section 3.01(a) was published by the Supreme Court in September 2020 and public comments were accepted until March 2021. The high court said it received 57 comments from members of the bar, the public and other organizations. In today’s order, the court recognized “the importance of ensuring that our judicial system and the legal profession are free from bias or prejudice and encouraging related continuing legal education,” but ultimately declined the NBA’s petition. Read the order here.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court today vacated an injunction issued by a three-judge panel that prevented enforcement of a redistricting plan enacted by the General Assembly for state Senate districts. The lower court had issued the injunction after finding the map violated the state constitution. It gave the legislature 15 days to rectify the map and extended the filing deadline for Senate candidates. The state appealed to the Court of Appeals, but the Tennessee Supreme Court, on its own motion, granted appeal, saying the case raised issues of compelling public interest. Today the court said the lower court failed to “adequately consider the harm the injunction will have on the election officials and also failed to adequately consider the public interest in ensuring orderly elections and avoiding voter confusion.” The court vacated the injunction and set a new filing deadline of 4 p.m. tomorrow. Justice Sharon G. Lee dissented from the majority opinion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday issued an order taking jurisdiction of Akilah Moore v. William Lee, et al, which involves a challenge to the redistricting of state Senate seats. Future documents in the case will be available on the Public Case History page or by searching case number M2022-00434-SC-RDO-CV in the Public Case History. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law student chapter of the Federalist Society will host a Q&A event with new Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell on April 14. Topics will include jurisprudence, federal and state courts, the Supreme Court and more. The event will take place from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. EDT in Room 340 of the law school. Read more from the Federalist Society.

The Tennessee Supreme Court’s April docket includes eight cases. The first two are set for Jackson on April 5. The next five cases will be heard in Nashville on April 6, with the final case submitted on briefs. Oral arguments will be livestreamed to the Tennessee Courts YouTube page. Details on the individual cases are available on the Tennessee Courts website.

The Tennessee Supreme Court this week denied an appeal by Eric Boyd, the fifth and final suspect to be convicted in the 2007 torture slayings of a Knox County couple, Tennessee Lookout reports. Boyd was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Court jury in August 2019 of kidnapping, raping and killing Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus another 90 years for related, underlying crimes. Four others involved in the crime are also in prison. Lemaricus Davidson is on death row, Letalvis Cobbins is serving life without parole and Vanessa Coleman is serving 35 years. George Thomas was originally sentenced to 127 years but agreed in 2018 to testify against Boyd in return for a 50-year sentence.

The Tennessee Supreme Court is seeking public comments on amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B that were proposed by the Tennessee Trial Judges’ Association this week. If adopted, the proposed amendments will provide for summary denial of improper repetitive recusal motions, give the appellate court a means of supplementing the factual record and codify existing case law on the scope of expedited interlocutory appeal and the procedures to be followed on remand from orders reversing trial court orders denying recusal motions. Read the proposed amendments here. Comment must be submitted by May 23 and should be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or mailed to James Hivner, Clerk, RE: Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday adopted an amendment to Rule 9, section 33.1(d) regarding appeals of disciplinary enforcement. The amendment went into effect immediately after it was filed. Read the entire amendment here.  

Belmont University College of Law recently hosted a panel discussion on State Constitutionalism: A Justice’s View. The event featured perspectives from Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins, Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick and Belmont Law Dean Alberto Gonzales, a former member of the Texas Supreme Court. The panel was moderated by Belmont Law Professor Jeffrey Usman and sponsored by the Federalist Society and the Student Bar Association.