Thank you for your continued support of the Local Government Practice Section. It has been a busy year, led by Section Chair Will Patterson. The section's annual forum will be held in the fall, so keep an eye out for information to be announced over the summer. You will not want to miss this yearly favorite, especially since section members receive a discount on all section-sponsored CLE!

In the meantime, you do not have to wait to connect with colleagues. The section directory is a great resource for meeting other government attorneys or for referrals. We hope to see you at the annual forum, and if you have thoughts or ideas about future section initiatives, please do not hesitate to reach out to TBA staff coordinator Jamie Rhode.

The Administrative Office of the Court's (AOC) Court Improvement Program (CIP) hosts a FREE monthly training series for attorneys who take appointments in Tennessee juvenile court. Sessions are designed to support Tennessee attorneys representing children, parents and the state in juvenile court, while also serving the broader multidisciplinary child welfare community. Presentations are held live on the second Friday of the month from noon to 1:30 p.m. CDT. All sessions also are recorded and available on demand for distance learning. Additional sessions will be announced this summer. Upcoming topics include:

• April 10: Understanding Tennessee Graduation Requirements & Transcripts
• May 8: Drug Testing in Child Welfare with Dr. Mollie Nissen
• June 12: Severe Abuse Litigation with a Tennessee Parent Attorney Panel
• July 10: Tennessee Service Array
• August 14: Legislative Update
• Sept. 11: Case Law Update

Registration is posted roughly two weeks prior to each session. Practitioners also may email Elizabeth Whitt to be added to the CIP mailing list and receive registration information via email.

General, Solo, & Small Firm Section members have access to quality TBA CLE programming that can be purchased using a section member discount. Join colleagues for upcoming ethics courses featuring Stuart Teicher: Dealing with Deep Fakes: Danger and Direction, What Batman Teaches About Attorney Ethics and Lyrical Lessons from Taylor Swift: An Ethics Program. Brush up on your elder law knowledge at the Elder Law Basics program coming up in April. There are many forums coming up in May as well, focusing on labor and employment, business law, alternative dispute resolution and international law. Looking for something else? Check out the TBA CLE catalog to find more courses focused on the needs of solo and small firm practitioners!

The TBA YLD and Belmont Law need attorney volunteers for a wills clinic on April 11 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. CDT. This clinic will serve Rebuilding Nashville Together clients. Attorneys will assist with drafting simple wills, durable powers of attorney (POAs) and health care POAs for program participants. Belmont Law students will serve as witnesses. Please email ginny.blake@belmont.edu if you are interested in helping or would like more information.

Juvenile Court Magistrate Judge Mitzi H. Pollard has announced her candidacy for Shelby County Circuit Court Division 3. She received her law degree in 2001 from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Pollard was a sole practitioner for more than 12 years, focusing on mediation, juvenile and family law, and advocating for vulnerable children and working families. She was appointed magistrate judge by Judge Dan Michael in 2015 and reappointed in 2022 by Judge Tarik Sugarmon. Pollard says in a statement that throughout her legal career, she has "remained deeply committed to public service, professional excellence and the fair and impartial administration of justice. My candidacy is rooted in a desire to continue that service on the Circuit Court bench — ensuring that every litigant is treated with dignity, that the law is applied faithfully and that our courts remain accessible, efficient and trusted by the community." Learn more at www.pollardforjudge.com.

The inaugural Joint Georgia/Tennessee Construction Law Conference hosted by TBA's Construction Law Section is now available as a 1-Click package. The CLE sessions are for both Georgia and Tennessee construction attorneys, covering topics such as regional differences in construction law, a view from the bench session featuring judges and arbitrators, a case study session and more. The program offers 6.5 total CLE hours, including one dual hour. Access the individual programs or the 1-Click package.

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Quante Webb, of first-degree premeditated murder, attempted first-degree premeditated murder, employment of a firearm with intent to commit a dangerous felony, and aggravated child abuse. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to life plus thirty-two years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant contends: (1) that the trial court erred when it admitted evidence of his gang membership; (2) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction for first-degree premeditated murder; and (3) the trial court improperly ordered partial consecutive sentencing. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

In 2024, a Madison County jury convicted the Defendant, William Dangelo Penny, of felony evading arrest, misdemeanor evading arrest, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving while his license was suspended. The trial court sentenced him to nine years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. He also contends that his motion for a continuance of his trial should have been granted. The State notes that the appeal is untimely. After review, we dismiss the appeal.

The Petitioner, Marterious O’Neal, was originally convicted of two counts of felony murder, eight counts of attempted aggravated robbery, and one count of aggravated assault, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment. He filed for post- conviction relief, alleging various grounds of ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel including (1) trial counsel’s failure to file a motion under Rule 608 of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence to impeach a witness for the State, (2) appellate counsel’s failure to include the transcript of the motion to suppress on direct appeal; and (3) appellate counsel’s failure to withdraw from representation in compliance with Rule 14 of the Tennessee Supreme Court thereby depriving the Petitioner of a timely application to appeal pursuant to Rule 11 of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Following a two-day evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court granted a delayed appeal upon finding that appellate counsel had failed to withdraw in compliance with Rule 14, thereby depriving the Petitioner of the ability to file a timely Rule 11 appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. In the same order, the post-conviction court determined that whether trial counsel was ineffective in failing to file a Rule 608 motion had been previously determined by this court and that the Petitioner had failed to establish prejudice with respect to appellate counsel’s failure to include the motion to suppress transcript on direct appeal. In this appeal, the Petitioner contends, and we agree, that the post-conviction court erred in determining that the Rule 608 issue had been previously determined and in granting a delayed appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. With respect to the remaining issues, the Petitioner also contends that the post-conviction court erred in finding that he received the effective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. Although appellate counsel failed to withdraw in accordance with Rule 14, we conclude that appellate counsel filed a timely application for permission to appeal from the Petitioner’s convictions in this case. Accordingly, we reverse and vacate the order of the post-conviction court to the extent that it grants the Petitioner a delayed appeal. We also conclude that because the Petitioner’s Rule 608 claim challenges trial counsel’s failure to file the motion rather than the trial court’s denial of the same, this issue has not been previously determined by this court. Nevertheless, the Petitioner failed to establish that trial counsel’s decision in not filing a Rule 608 motion prior to trial was ineffective. Finally, we conclude that trial counsel’s failure to include the transcript of the motion to suppress on direct appeal was deficient; however, the Petitioner failed to establish prejudice. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

SUTTON, Chief Judge. Schoening Investment insures its Kentucky properties with Cincinnati Casualty. When Schoening filed a claim with Cincinnati Casualty, the insurer offered to pay the cost of repairs less a deduction for depreciation. Schoening rejected the offer and filed this lawsuit, proposing to lead a putative class and arguing that Cincinnati Casualty improperly deducted depreciation from repair cost payouts. The district court dismissed Schoening’s claim after concluding that the policy authorized Cincinnati Casualty to do just what it did. We agree and affirm.