Defendant, Roger Earl England, appeals as of right from his conviction for first degree premeditated murder, for which he is serving a life sentence. On appeal, Defendant contends that (1) the evidence of premeditation is insufficient to support his conviction; (2) the trial court erred by admitting Defendant’s jail telephone calls and emails, which alerted the jury to Defendant’s pretrial incarceration; (3) the prosecutor made improper statements during the State’s closing and rebuttal arguments; (4) the trial court erred by instructing the jury that destruction of evidence could be considered evidence of guilt only as to the charged offense of first degree murder and by declining to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter as a lesser-included offense; and (5) the cumulative effect of these errors entitles him to a new trial. After a thorough review of the evidence and applicable case law, we affirm.

Terrance Collins (“Defendant”) appeals from his Shelby County Criminal Court conviction for aggravated arson, a Class A felony, and resulting twenty-year sentence. Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing more than the minimum in-range sentence. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This action involves the termination of a mother’s parental rights to her minor child. Following a bench trial, the court found that clear and convincing evidence existed to establish the following statutory grounds of termination: (1) abandonment by failure to visit; (2) abandonment by failure to support; (3) abandonment by failure to provide a suitable home; (4) substantial noncompliance with the permanency plans; (5) the persistence of conditions which led to removal; (6) severe child abuse; and (7) failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody of the child. The court also found that termination was in the best interest of the child. We affirm the trial court’s ultimate termination decision.

In this personal injury action, the plaintiff slipped and fell while jumping off of a diving board during a visit to a city owned pool, injuring his knee. Thereafter, the plaintiff sued the city based on negligence to recover for his injuries sustained from the accident and his wife sought damages for a derivative claim for loss of consortium. The city filed an answer, raising the Tennessee Recreational Use Statute (hereinafter “the TRUS”) as an affirmative defense. The city then filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that it was immune from liability under the TRUS because the city is a “landowner” as defined by the TRUS, the plaintiff was engaged in a “recreational activity” listed in the TRUS at the time of the accident, and none of the exceptions or limitations to the TRUS were applicable. The trial court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of the city. The trial court found that the language of the TRUS is not ambiguous and found that the city was immune from liability under the TRUS because the city pool, which is government-owned property, was being used for recreation at the time of the plaintiff’s injury and involved an activity included in the TRUS, “water sports.” The plaintiffs appeal the trial court’s holding that swimming in a city pool is a recreational activity protected under the TRUS. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.

The state Court of Appeals last week ruled that game wardens with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) must obtain warrants before entering private property. The Tennessee Lookout reports that a three-judge panel concluded TWRA’s warrantless forays onto private property violate Article 1, Section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution, which reads in part: “The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures.” The decision will require TWRA to seek judicial warrants based on probable cause that a crime has been committed before entering private property — the same rules that bind every other law enforcement agency in the state.

A jury has found Metro Nashville Fire Department (MNFD) guilty of discrimination against Deputy Fire Marshal Maggie Lawrence, and has awarded her $225,000 in compensatory damages. The Nashville Banner reports that the lawsuit, which was initiated in September 2022, alleged that Nashville Fire Chief William Swann promoted a younger and less experienced captain to the role of fire captain over Lawrence, despite the fire marshal at the time advocating for Lawrence as the more qualified candidate. The suit further claimed that Metro and Swann not only discriminated against Lawrence but also retaliated when she made her complaint public.

An investigation by WSMV found that several school districts have miscoded and misreported data surrounding "serious incidents" in their schools, which has led to an incorrect Safe Schools Report from the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). According to the news outlet, these often violent events include guns, weapons and explosives found on campus, as well as physical and sexual assaults. The Safe Schools Report breaks down the number of serious incidents reported at each school in every school district in the state, and the report is used by TDOE and state lawmakers to track guns and violence in schools and help guide policy on improving student safety. A data analysis found that miscoding of violent instances was to blame for a 50% spike in Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools.

Several health care entities in Middle Tennessee were impacted by a ransomware attack on St. Louis-based Ascension. A "cybersecurity incident" last week took down electronic health records, patient portal access and some systems used to order certain procedures and medications, reports the Nashville Business Journal. In an update Monday afternoon, Ascension said it worked over the weekend to respond to the attack and that it is "focused on restoring systems safely. We are making progress; however, it will take time to return to normal operations. As systems and services come back online, we will share those updates so that our patients and communities can plan accordingly."

Make plans now to join the TBA YLD for its program "Doing Your Best Virtually: A Panel Discussion on How to Be Your Best in the Virtual Legal World." This informative session will be held at the TBA's Annual Convention in Memphis on June 14 at 10 a.m. CDT. Panelists will discuss techniques and skills that will help lawyers develop and manage their practice in a virtual world while addressing common challenges posed by virtual work in the legal industry. Visit the TBA's convention webpage for more information on this panel and other CLE programs taking place during the event.

The new Franklin law firm of Campbell Perky Johnson PLLC will hold an open house on May 23 to celebrate its new office space. The event will run from 4:30 to 7 p.m. CDT at 329 S. Royal Oaks Blvd., Ste. #205, Franklin 37064. Attorneys Neil Campbell, Sarah Richter Perky and Cathy Speers Johnson recently opened the firm to serve clients in family law matters. Campbell and Perky have nearly 20 years of experience in family law cases. Campbell is also a Rule 31 Family Law Mediator. Johnson has more than 25 years of experience in family law matters and is certified in collaborative law and as a divorce mediator. The Nashville Post has more from a press release from the firm.