Maria Jeannette Merrill of Columbus, Indiana, died on Feb. 19 at age 62. She earned a degree in nursing from the University of Evansville, a master's degre in nursing education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and her law degree from the Nashville School of Law. Merrill was a member of the American Society of Health Risk Management, the Health Care Compliance Association, the American Health Lawyer's Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. She worked at Lincoln Health System in Fayetteville as the chief legal officer and for the Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga for 18 years where she served as a clinical nurse specialist and later as the privacy program manager. A celebration life will be held Feb. 29 at Jewell-Rittman Family Funeral Home, 3855 25th St., Columbus, Indiana 47203. Visitation begins at 4 p.m. EST and a tribute from the Nursing Honor Guard will start at 6 p.m. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association to support women's heart health.

Join your colleagues for an Immigration Law webcast on March 25 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. CDT. Two lawyers with extensive experience in immigration court and a retired immigration judge will explore some ways to avoid pitfalls in immigration court. Participants will be provided a copy of the Immigration Court Practice Manual and will have an opportunity to ask questions of the panelists. Pre-submit questions here.

The American Bar Association declined to grant full approval to JD-Next, rejecting a proposal to put the alternative law school admissions program on par with the LSAT and the GRE, reports Reuters. The ABA's Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar instead approved a recommendation from its standards committee that the program should not yet be deemed a "valid and reliable" predictor of an applicant's law school grades. Daniel Thies, chair of the standards committee, noted that "more data and more study be gathered" before deciding whether the JD-Next program meets the standard. An ABA-commissioned report found the exam "cannot be evaluated with the present data."

The 17th Annual Napier-Looby Bar Foundation Barristers’ Banquet and Awards Program was held last month in Nashville. The annual event honors distinguished attorneys and judges and supports NLBF's law school scholarships and charitable efforts throughout the year. Awards were presented to Chancellor Russell Perkins, who received the Alexander Looby Lifetime Achievement Award, Dannelle F.W. Whiteside, Vice President for Legal Affairs and Organizational Strategy at Austin Peay State University, who received the J.C. Napier Trailblazer Award and Davidson County General Sessions Court Judge Marcus Floyd, who was presented the Justice A.A. Birch Outstanding Service Award. The late Honorable Judge Richard H. Dinkins was honored in a reception immediately preceding the banquet. See photo from the event.

The defendant, Khalil Young, pleaded guilty to attempted carjacking and kidnapping, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of eight years’ incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues the trial court erred in denying his request for diversion and alternative sentencing. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

A Tipton County jury found the defendant, Kevin Scott Pendleton, guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for which he received a sentence of ten years in confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. Following our review, we affirm the defendant’s conviction.

The pro se petitioner, Tut Mayal Tut, appeals the summary dismissal of his second petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his guilty-pleaded convictions of especially aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, and aggravated rape, alleging that his guilty pleas were unknowing and involuntary. Discerning no error, we affirm the summary dismissal of the post-conviction petition.

The petitioner, Chris M. Jones, appeals from the summary dismissal of his petition filed pursuant to the Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act of 2001, wherein he sought DNA testing of evidence related to his convictions for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. After reviewing the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Travis Haynes, of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and convicted felon in possession of a firearm, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus twenty years. On appeal, the defendant contends the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions for first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. The defendant also argues the trial court erred in not allowing the introduction of autopsy photographs through Ms. Dinkins, in failing to include an instruction on voluntary manslaughter, and in denying the defendant’s motion to continue. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant, Eric DeShawn Webb, appeals the Maury County Circuit Court’s partial denial of his motion to reduce his sentence filed pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 35, and imposition of an effective 10-year sentence for his guilty-pleaded convictions of aggravated rioting and aggravated assault. Discerning no error, we affirm.