Knox County lawyer Christopher Shawn Roberts was temporarily suspended from the practice of law on Oct. 13. The Tennessee Supreme Court took the action after finding that Roberts failed to substantially comply with his Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program. Roberts is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Nov. 12. The court also issued an order allowing documents in the case to be filed under seal.

Lawyers gathered in downtown Chattanooga today for the TBA Young Lawyers Division’s Civil Rights Walking Tour CLE. Sites toured by the group included the historic third floor courtroom in the Joel W. Solomon Federal Courthouse, the Abby Crawford Milton Suffrage statue, the Ed Johnson Memorial and the site of civil rights protests at the former Woolworth Store on Market Street. The event concluded with a discussion of the future of civil rights law. Speakers included Judge Curtis Collier, former TBA President Sam Elliott, Immediate Past YLD President Brittany Faith, and Chattanooga lawyers Michael Jones, Donna Mikel and YLD Board member Claire Tuley. Last spring, the YLD held its first Civil Rights Walking Tour in Nashville. See photos from today's event.

Nashville lawyer Tusca R. S. Alexis has announced her candidacy for the Fourth Circuit Court in Nashville. Originally from the Caribbean, Alexis earned her law degree from Drake University and moved to Nashville in 1989. She previously served in the Davidson County Public Defender’s Office and worked for the Law Office of Luvell Glanton. She opened her own firm in 2010 and launched a mediation practice in 2015. In a news release, covered by the Tennessee Tribune, Alexis says she has represented hundreds of indigent and under-privileged individuals during her 33 years of practice.

ROGERS, Circuit Judge. Defendant Michael Terry pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing a mixture containing fentanyl and was sentenced to fifty-seven months of imprisonment. In this appeal, he challenges only the district court’s imposition of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines’ “drug house” two-point enhancement for maintaining a premises for the purpose of manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance. U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(12). He argues that there was not sufficient evidence that a primary use of his residence was for the distribution of controlled substances. On the evidence that Terry and his co-conspirator engaged in repeated drug dealing from Terry’s home, the district court properly applied the enhancement.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

Petitioner, Kimberly Miller, appeals as of right from the Maury County Circuit Court's denial of her petition for post-conviction relief, wherein she challenged her convictions for first degree premeditated murder and first degree felony murder, for which she received a life sentence. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that she was denied the effective assistance of counsel based upon trial counsel's failure to permit Petitioner "to make a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary decision on whether to assert—or not assert—the statute of limitations for all lesser[-]included offenses of first degree murder and first degree felony murder" and counsel's failure to file a motion to dismiss, "along with alternative requests for mandatory or permissive jury instructions, related to the violation of [Petitioner's] Due Process rights under the federal and state constitutions" based upon a lengthy, preindictment delay. Following a thorough review, we affirm.

The defendant, James Tyler Fucci, appeals the denial of his request for judicial diversion of the six-year sentence imposed for his Montgomery County Criminal Court guiltypleaded conviction of aggravated assault. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. We remand for entry of a judgment on Count 2 reflecting that the charge was dismissed in accordance with the plea agreement.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has denied an appeal by Billy Ray Turner, who was convicted in the murder of former Memphis basketball star Lorenzen Wright, Local Memphis reports. The opinion affirms the trial court’s judgement in the case, which sentenced Turner to life plus 41-years. In his appeal, Turner claimed the trial court prevented him from impeaching a witness, allowed prosecutors to ask leading questions, and allowed a “speaking objection” by the state. He also claimed that Shelby County was not the proper venue for the trial and that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction.

Knoxville Municipal Judge John Rosson held a press conference this week for his reelection campaign in the city courtroom – a move that allegedly violates the Code of Judicial Conduct. Rosson said yesterday he was not aware of any such rule, saying he “should have done more research." Rosson’s opponent, Tyler Caviness, told WBIR that the situation is about the rules and fairness. "I am not the judge, I couldn't go and hold a press conference in the city courtroom,” he said.

Courts in both Florida and Ohio denied petitions to terminate Father's parental rights in favor of the Prospective Adoptive Parents. While Florida courts were still exercising jurisdiction over the transition of the child from his Prospective Adoptive Parents to his Mother and Father, the Prospective Adoptive Parents sought for the third time to have a court terminate Father's parental rights, asserting willful failure to support in Tennessee. The juvenile court dismissed the petition, finding that Father's failure to support was not willful because the failure to support was tied to the Prospective Adoptive Parents' representations that they would no longer pursue custody, to Father's financial outlays related to preparing his horne for a transition of custody, and to the complex, jurisdictional nature of the litigation, in which Florida courts were expressly exercising jurisdiction for many months after the filing of the Tennessee petition and during the entirety of the period of non-payment. The Prospective Adoptive Parents appeal, asserting that the ground for termination was established by clear and convincing evidence, that termination is in the child's best interest, and that the court erred in assessing fees for the guardian ad litem. We affirm the judgment of the juvenile court.

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, with offices in the Nashville suburbs, has rebranded as GRSM50, becoming the first law firm to add a “numerical identifier” to its name, the ABA Journal reports. According to the firm, the new moniker is meant to emphasize its presence in all 50 states. In a release announcing the name change, the firm says it is the “first and only full-service law firm” to open offices in all states.