Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles heard arguments this week in a case seeking greater media access to information about state executions. A group of news outlets has sued to compel the Department of Correction to provide the information, according the Nashville Banner. Myles said her ruling, even if released before the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols next week, will not affect press access at that event. Paul McAdoo, with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, asked Myles to accommodate the request for access “as soon as practical.” In related news, a group of medical professionals are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to pause executions until the lethal injection protocol can be reviewed by a court. A letter from the group raised “grave concerns” with the use of pentobarbital. The Banner has more on both stories in its newsletter.

The Defendant, Cristobal J. Quintana II, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of second offense driving under the influence (DUI), a Class A misdemeanor; possessing an open container of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle, a Class C misdemeanor; and violation of the financial responsibility law, a Class C misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 55-10-401(1) (2020) (DUI), 55-10-402(a)(2) (Supp. 2022) (subsequently amended) (sentencing for second-offense DUI), 55-10-416 (open container law), 55-12- 139 (2020) (financial responsibility). He was also found civilly liable by the trial court for violation of the implied consent law. See id. § 55-10-406 (2020) (subsequently amended) (implied consent). The trial court imposed an effective eleven-month, twenty-nine-day sentence, forty-five days of which was to be served in jail, and the balance on probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the superseding indictment for second offense DUI and that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and the finding on the implied consent violation. We affirm the judgments of the trial court and remand for correction of clerical errors on the judgment forms for Counts 1, 2, and 3.

In June 2021, the Maury County Grand Jury indicted Defendant, Chaisty Dawn Jones, for first degree premeditated murder in Count 1, first degree felony murder perpetration of aggravated burglary in Count 2, aggravated burglary in Count 3, employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony in Count 4, and simple possession of marijuana in Count 5. At trial, the jury convicted the Defendant of the lesser included offense of second degree murder in Count 1 and convicted her as charged in Counts 2, 3, 4, and 5. The trial court merged the conviction in Count 1 with the conviction in Count 2 and imposed an effective life sentence. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that the Defendant had a “duty to retreat” prior to acting in self- defense. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand for entry of corrected judgments in Count 1 and Count 2.

In 2018, the Defendant, Ronald Gray, pleaded guilty to several drug related charges in exchange for a total effective sentence of eleven years. He was ordered to serve a portion of his sentence in confinement and then released on May 1, 2018, to Community Corrections. In 2019, the trial court entered an amended judgment to reflect an enhanced sentence for his “plea to Violation of Community Corrections.” The order indicated that, as of June 5, 2019, his Community Corrections was revoked, he was reinstated and transferred to state probation, and he had to restart the eleven years of probation. In June 2020, the trial court issued an arrest warrant for the Defendant based upon a probation violation. In 2024, the trial court ordered that the Defendant be incarcerated for the duration of his sentence based on the probation violation. The Defendant appeals, but his notice of appeal was not timely filed. As such, we dismiss the appeal.

In 2012, a Sullivan County jury convicted the Petitioner, Dwight Randall Walton, of two counts of rape of a child, two counts of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means, and three counts of aggravated sexual battery. For these convictions, he received an effective sentence of fifty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. State v. Walton, No. E2014-02319-CCA-R3-CD, 2015 WL 5554573, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Sept. 21, 2015), no perm. app. filed. On direct appeal, this court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support each conviction, except one of the aggravated sexual battery convictions (Count 3). Id. Concluding that the evidence was insufficient to support one of the aggravated sexual battery conviction, we reversed and dismissed that conviction. Thereafter, the Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied his petition after a hearing. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Defendant, Allen Fitzgerald Ailey, pleaded guilty in two cases to felon in possession of a weapon, possession with intent to sell or deliver .5 grams or more of cocaine, and possession with intent to sell or deliver oxycodone. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Defendant received concurrent four-year sentences for the drug offenses to be served consecutively to a sentence of six years for the weapon offense, with the manner of service of Defendant’s sentences to be determined by the trial court. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court denied alternative sentencing and ordered Defendant to serve his entire ten- year sentence in confinement. Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court abused its discretion by denying probation. Finding no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. However, we remand for entry of judgments on the counts that were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement.

This action involves the termination of a mother and father’s parental rights to their minor child. Following a bench trial, the court found that clear and convincing evidence existed to establish several statutory grounds of termination as applied to each parent. The court also found that termination was in the child’s best interest. We now affirm.

In this compensation appeal, the employer asserts the trial court erred in concluding that the decedent’s death was caused primarily by a work-related heart attack given evidence of his significant preexisting heart disease. Following a compensation hearing, the court considered the conflicting testimony of two medical experts and concluded that Ms. Vanderford’s expert’s opinion should be afforded greater weight, thereby resulting in the award of death benefits. The court also determined that, in addition to the decedent’s biological son, his former stepdaughter is a dependent eligible to receive death benefits. The employer has appealed. Upon careful review of the record and the arguments of counsel, we affirm the trial court’s compensation order and certify it as final.

During a recording of the WKNO podcast "Behind the Headlines," Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris stated that an office other than the sheriff’s should be running the county jail. A total of 12 prisoners have died in custody of the sheriff’s office so far this year, including at least four in November. Harris criticized what he described as a lack of urgency from Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. and said he is exploring options with the Tennessee Corrections Institute and other state officials, including potential changes in training or even private management. Bonner, who is suing Harris over budget restrictions, said many inmates who died had longstanding health issues tied to poverty and noted that medical care in the jail is overseen by a contractor selected by the mayor’s office, not the sheriff. The Daily Memphian has the story.

Vanderbilt University Law School is seeking volunteers to conduct 20-minute virtual mock interviews for LL.M. students in early February. For more information and to volunteer, contact Legal Studies Program Manager Tricia Crocker at the law school.