The investiture ceremony for incoming Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight E. Tarwater will take place Sept. 5 at 3 p.m. EDT at the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St., Knoxville 37902. Gov. Bill Lee will be on hand to administer the oath of office and a reception will follow the ceremony. Please RSVP to tscrsvp@painetarwater.com by Friday to attend. View the invitation.

Registration is now open for the TBA's Law & Culture in Ireland CLE program scheduled for May 2024. Two travel options are available: a four-night trip to Dublin and a six-night trip to Dublin and Belfast. In conjunction with CLE Abroad, travelers will engage with local experts, academics, officials and change makers who will offer in-depth commentary on the EU and UK legal-political systems, economics, environmental justice, history and religion. In Dublin, the group also will explore ancient castles, visit landmarks, museums and notable legal institutions, and sample local cuisine. In Belfast, travelers will learn about the region's unique political history, Good Friday Agreement, ongoing reconciliation efforts and peace process. Add on trips to the West Coast and Cliffs of Moher also are available. View a brochure for the trip or learn more online.

The TBA Criminal Justice Section Student Spotlight is a quarterly publication featuring a collaborative article authored by a law student with the assistance of a TBA Criminal Justice Section member. This month's feature was written by Vanderbilt Law School student Rebecca Zarowtny with assistance from TBA Criminal Justice Section Immediate Past Chair Sean Deitrick.

Conviction Review Units (CRUs), sometimes called Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs) or Justice Review Units (JRUs) are units operating from within district attorney’s offices to investigate past cases where confidence in the outcome has been called into question. Though there are still relatively few CRUs throughout the nation (the state of Tennessee has two – one in Davidson County, operating since 2016, and one in Shelby County, operating since 2022), they have grown in quantity and influence since their inception. These units offer a crucial avenue for review within the criminal justice system: they not only allow the office responsible for seeking the outcome in question to be accountable for and correct errors when they are identified, but also give individuals caught within the system another method of post-conviction examination – often after every other avenue of review has been exhausted.

In Nashville, the director of the Davidson County Conviction Review Unit is Sunny Eaton. Eaton graciously agreed to be interviewed about CRUs generally, as well as the unit in Nashville more specifically. While explaining the foundations of what it means to operate as a CRU and how the unit in Nashville runs day-to-day, Eaton highlighted the philosophy that she and the Davidson County CRU strive to pursue: the greatest good for the greatest number. In the pursuit of this philosophy, education and communication are essential, as there are a number of common questions and misconceptions that CRUs encounter. This article briefly examines a few. Continue reading...
 

The TBA Criminal Justice Section will provide a free webinar on Sept. 6 regarding juvenile justice for criminal law practitioners. This one-hour event will cover the basics for lawyers tackling their first juvenile case, including best practices, transfer hearings, new laws and more. Panelists include federal prosecutor and TBA Criminal Justice Section Immediate Past Chair Sean Deitrick, supervisor of the Knox County Public Defenders Office's Youth Defense Unit Christina Kleiser, Williamson County Juvenile Court Judge Sharon Guffee and juvenile defense attorney Wenke West. One hour of general CLE credit is available for a $50 processing fee. Register to attend using this link.

One of the bills the General Assembly will consider during its special session on public safety would create a new felony offense for making a threat of mass violence, Tennessee Lookout reports. Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, and Rep. Mark Cochran, R-Englewood, introduced the measure, about which youth advocates are concerned. Cara Suvall, associate professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School, says the law's vague language could lead to children, who make even mild statements, being swept into the adult criminal justice system. Children with disabilities that limit their ability to regulate impulse and emotions may be at greatest risk, she says. 

The bill would create a new felony offense for recklessly making a threat of mass violence against two or more individuals, and another more serious felony if that threat is directed toward a school, college, church, concert, government office or spaces in which 250 or more people are gathered. It would require anyone charged with the crime to be detained without bail until a Department of Homeland Safety team conducts a threat assessment, and judges would be required to order a separate evaluation for involuntary psychiatric hospitalization as a condition of release. Only criminal, circuit and general court sessions judges would make these decisions – not juvenile court judges, according to the bill’s language. Details of the bill can be accessed on the General Assembly's website.

A new state law requires doctors to obtain "informed consent" from the parent or legal guardian of a minor before administering a vaccine, which medical professionals and child advocates say is complicating medical care for children not under the care of their biological parents. The Tennessean reports that the law requires biological parental rights to be irrevocably terminated before another party can obtain legal guardianship, and many children under the care of relatives have parents that are difficult to locate or will not give written consent for vaccinations. The Department of Children's Services (DCS) only has full legal guardianship of about 10% of the children in its custody; for the remaining 90%, DCS must seek a court order for each individual vaccine or seek permission from the biological parents. Read more at The Tennessean.

East Tennessee attorney and Juvenile Court Judge Daniel Boyd was recently indicted by a Hawkins County Grand Jury. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reports that Boyd, while working as an attorney, provided a client with a forged default judgment declaring her divorce to be finalized that appeared to be signed by the chancellor of the Third Judicial District. When the client filed a complaint, Boyd allegedly offered her money to withdraw the complaint. Boyd has been indicted on charges of three counts of forgery, one count of criminal simulation, and one count of bribery. Read more from the TBI. The Board of Judicial Conduct's suspension order against Boyd can be viewed in the TBA Today story published on Aug. 16.

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Nikolay Kolov, a native and citizen of Bulgaria, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). The BIA upheld the IJ’s determination that Kolov did not present a credible claim because parts of his testimony before the IJ were not disclosed in his reasonable fear interview, written application, or supporting declaration. Because the BIA’s decision contains no legal error, we deny the petition for review.

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. Kenneth Johnson was the councilman in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, and Garnell Jamison was his executive assistant. For years, Johnson used his position to fraudulently claim federal reimbursements for payments he never made. He also secured employment for his children in federally funded programs, even though they were not legally eligible to work in such positions. And Johnson deposited their earnings into his own account. In addition, Johnson fraudulently claimed a series of tax deductions. He also encouraged and assisted his son Elijah in submitting falsified records for Elijah’s grand-jury testimony. Garnell Jamison assisted Johnson in these crimes.

Johnson and Jamison were tried and convicted on 15 charges. Both now appeal their convictions and sentences, raising a number of issues. Because none of them has merit, we affirm.

Five former Memphis Police Department officers facing charges in the death of Tyre Nichols appeared in court last week. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones Jr. scheduled a Sept. 15 date to consider motions from three officers — Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean — requesting separate trials. Mills is the most recent former officer to make this request; Smith and Bean filed their motions in June. The officers are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression. While some expect a federal criminal case against the officers, pretrial motions and a trial date are yet to be set, pending the judge's ruling on the release of additional documents and video footage related to the case. The Daily Memphian has the story.