U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch on Tuesday urged Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah to stop using juries with fewer than 12 people in some criminal trials as the high court declined to revisit a 50 year old precedent that has allowed them to do so. The court declined to hear an appeal that raised the question of whether the U.S. Constitution bars juries with as few as six people from deciding felony cases. Williams v. Florida was a 1970 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the 6th Amendment does not require 12-member juries. Reuters has more.

State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, asked Gov. Bill Lee to hire William Bratton, a former two-time New York Police Department commissioner known for his enforcement of petty crimes, to have him study Memphis’ crime problem. In a letter to the governor, Taylor described the city as a "warzone" with a diminishing quality of life, noting that businesses are closing and people are leaving because of the crime rates. The Daily Memphian reports that according to data released last week, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city lost 5,200 residents from 2022 to 2023. Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, said "Yes, we need to hold criminals accountable, but, more importantly, we need to break the cycle of violence with initiatives that prevent crime before it happens ... This isn’t rocket science. When people’s basic needs are being met and you target illegal guns, crime goes down."

In this interlocutory appeal, the employer appeals the trial court’s decision denying the employer’s motion to compel and concluding the employee will likely prevail at a hearing on the merits with respect to his claim for certain medical benefits. The employee alleged injuries to his back, left arm, and left knee due to a fall at work. After multiple emergency room visits and treatment with an unauthorized physician, the employer authorized the employee to treat with an occupational health facility. That provider referred the employee to an orthopedic physician, and the employer provided a panel; however, the employer declined to authorize an appointment once it received medical records from other providers. It then sought to compel discovery from the employee and his union. The trial court orally denied the motion to compel discovery from the union at the expedited hearing and found that the employee had met his burden of proof to support an order for certain medical benefits. As such, it ordered the employer to authorize an appointment with the panel-selected physician. The employer appealed. Following the filing of the notice of appeal, we remanded the case for the court to issue a written order addressing its rationale for denying the employer’s motion to compel production of records from the employee’s union. Thereafter, the trial court issued an order granting in part the employer’s motion, which is a different result than the court’s ruling at the expedited hearing. The case is now before us following that remand, and, upon review of the record, we conclude the court’s denial of the employer’s motion to compel is not properly before us. Further, we affirm the trial court’s order requiring the employer to authorize an appointment with the panel-selected orthopedic physician, and we remand the case.

Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, filed a collusion complaint with the Registry of Election Finance against the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC. The Registry has now referred the complaint to the Tennessee Attorney General's Office for investigation. The Tennessee Journal reports that the complaint states the treasurer of the PAC, which has published ads attacking incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, is also the treasurer for U.S. Rep. Diane Harshbarger, a Kingsport Republican. Harshbarger's son, Bobby, is challenging Lundberg for the District 4 seat.

The TBA’s Court Square Series will be in Cookeville on the afternoon of May 30. The program will include an ethics update with Beverly Sharpe with the Board of Professional Responsibility; a legislative update with Nathan Ridley; and a judicial panel with Circuit Court Judge William Ridley from Crossville and Circuit Court Judge Caroline Knight and Chancellor Ronald Thurman from Cookeville.

After a 2022 bench trial, the trial court convicted the Defendant, Rickie Lumley, of felony evading arrest, and subsequently sentenced him as a Career Offender to twelve years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his Class D felony conviction for felony evading arrest because his flight did not create a risk of death or injury to innocent bystanders or other third parties. He contends that his conviction should have only been for a Class E felony. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Willis Holloway, of two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and one count of aggravated burglary, and the trial court sentenced him to 135 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. After an unsuccessful appeal, post-conviction filing, and extraordinary relief filing, in December 2022, the Defendant filed a Rule 36.1 motion challenging an unconstitutional jury instruction. He then filed a supplemental motion claiming “actual innocence.” The trial court denied his Rule 36.1 motion. The Defendant filed a motion to reconsider, which the trial court denied, and the Petitioner now appeals. The State asserts that, pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a), the appeal is untimely. After review, we dismiss the appeal as untimely.

The defendant, Demetrius A. Brooks, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s order revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the balance of his eight-year sentence for his guilty-pleaded convictions of selling .5 grams or more of cocaine in confinement. Discerning no error, we affirm.

After a tragic motor vehicle accident caused her husband’s death and her minor child’s serious injuries, the plaintiff filed this products liability action against several manufacturers and sellers. The plaintiff appeals from the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc., a booster seat manufacturer. Based on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Carolyn Coffman, et al. v. Armstrong International, Inc., et al., 615 S.W.3d 888 (Tenn. 2021), and the relevant provisions of the Tennessee Products Liability Act, we affirm the trial court.

This is a legal malpractice suit filed by John Doe Corporation (“Plaintiff”) against its former counsel, Kennerly, Montgomery & Finley, P.C. (“Defendant”). The case arises from the expiration of a judgment obtained by Plaintiff against a defendant (“the third party”) in a suit that concluded more than a decade ago, and Defendant’s alleged failure to advise Plaintiff of the judgment’s impending expiration. The legal malpractice action was before Judge William T. Ailor, who had represented the third party in the underlying suit before becoming a judge. Judge Ailor granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss based on Plaintiff’s failure to bring the action within the time set by the relevant statute of limitations. After becoming aware of Plaintiff’s and the third party’s identities, Judge Ailor recused himself while Plaintiff’s motion to alter or amend the judgment was pending. Plaintiff sought to void the judgment dismissing the case. Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty was assigned to sit by interchange over the case and denied Plaintiff’s motion. Plaintiff appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.