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TBA Law Blog

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TSC Reverses Dismissal of Wrongful Death Suit Filed Without a Lawyer

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 30, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected a defendant hospital’s argument that a wrongful death lawsuit filed by a surviving spouse was null and void because the spouse was not represented by a lawyer when the lawsuit was filed. Read the unanimous opinion by Justice Holly Kirby at the Court’s website. 

Tennessee Supreme Court Seeking Comments on Revisions to Rule 7

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 30, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court is seeking comments on a proposed change to Rule 7, suggested by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Read the suggested changes here. Written comments from judges, lawyers, bar associations, and others will be accepted until Sept. 29 and should be sent to James M. Hivner, Clerk, Re: Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 7, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave N, Nashville, 77219-1407 or emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov.

TSC: Double Jeopardy Approach Applies to Multiple Offenses Arising From Same Sexual Assault

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 28, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that multiple convictions for sexual offenses arising from a single act of sexual assault should be analyzed under double jeopardy principles, overriding its prior decision in 1999’s State v. Barney, which held that such cases should be reviewed under a due process approach. Chief Justice Jeff Bivins authored the unanimous opinion. 

Supreme Court Backs UT Football Player’s Bid to See Social Media of Accuser

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 17, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the defense team for two University of Tennessee football players accused of rape, allowing them access to the text messages and social media of their accusers, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Defense attorneys for accused players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams argue that the accuser is lying, and what she and her friends said via the Internet will help prove it. The court’s decision has major implications for Tennessee trials of this nature going forward, making digital communication fair game as evidence.

TSC: Sentencing Laws Implicitly Allow Trial Judges to Set Minimum Confinement Terms

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 16, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in the case of Jason Ray, who alleged his civil rights were violated by a trial judge who did not have authority to include a 75 percent minimum jail service requirement under Tennessee law. The Court concluded that sentencing laws implicitly authorize trial courts to do so by granting trial courts broad authority to fashion appropriate sentences and by encouraging trial courts to impose sentences other than incarceration when appropriate. The Court also answered the question of whether sheriffs have a duty to challenge potentially improper jail sentences, ruling that they do not.

Tenn. Supreme Court Holds Attorney's Public Reprimand

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 10, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed a 2014 disciplinary action by the Board of Professional Responsibility that found a Knoxville attorney guilty of professional misconduct. A petition for discipline filed against Danny C. Garland II alleged that while handling an adoption case, he failed to communicate appropriately with clients, failed to exercise reasonable diligence in his representation and committed professional misconduct. A hearing panel found that he should be publicly reprimanded, a ruling affirmed after Garland’s appeal to the Knox County Chancery Court. The Supreme Court's ruling agreed as well, although a dissenting opinion was authored by Justice Holly Kirby.

Court Increases Attorney’s Punishment to 1-Year Suspension

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 4, 2017
After a hearing panel publicly censured Nashville attorney Paul Walwyn for misconduct, the Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously ruled to increase the punishment to a one-year suspension, with six months of active suspension and six months probation. Walwyn was punished for his representation of a client in a murder trial. After his client was convicted, Walwyn failed to file a timely notice of appeal, waited three and a half years to file a motion to accept a delayed appeal, failed to keep his client informed about the case, violated the Rules of Professional Conduct and engaged in conduct that was prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Argentine Attorney Wins Right to Sit for Tennessee Bar Exam

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 4, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court today ruled in favor of Maximiliano Gabriel Gluzman, the Argentine lawyer who was denied the opportunity to sit for the Tennessee Bar Exam, the Nashville Post reports. Gluzman was a Vanderbilt LL.M. graduate who was allowed to take the New York bar, but the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners found his Argentine education was not “substantially equivalent” to an American education and denied his request. Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee filed briefs in support of Gluzman, and the schools proposed changes to the bar eligibility rules, which the Supreme Court is considering.

Supreme Court Creates Court Reporter Task Force

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 11, 2017
In response to a lack of qualified court reporters in Tennessee, the state Supreme Court has created a task force of judges, clerks and court reporters to address the shortage. With grant funding obtained from the Office of Criminal Justice Programs, the AOC and the Court Reporter Task Force have begun work on the development of a pilot educational program with the goal of increasing the number of well-trained court reporters.

TSC: HIPAA-compliant Authorization Not Required When Pre-Suit Notice Sent to Single Healthcare Provider

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 5, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a prospective plaintiff who provides pre-suit notice of a healthcare liability claim to a single healthcare provider is not required to provide a medical authorization compliant with HIPAA. In the case of Bray v. Khuri, Deborah Bray sent a pre-suit notice to Dr. Radwan R. Khuri advising him of a potential claim for the wrongful death of her husband, and she later filed suit. Khuri moved to dismiss on grounds that the medical authorization in the notice was not in compliance with HIPAA. The trial court and Court of Appeals granted Khuri’s motion, but in a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the lower court decisions.
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