The Petitioner, Rodney Miller, appeals from the order of the Shelby County Criminal Court denying his petition seeking post-conviction relief from his convictions of rape of a child, aggravated statutory rape, and aggravated sexual battery. On appeal, the Petitioner initially argues that the order of the post-conviction court is insufficient for appellate review. He further claims that each of his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to object to the State’s improper voir dire, in failing to effectively cross-examine the victim at trial, and in failing to adequately advise the Petitioner of his right to testify. Finally, the Petitioner asserts that the cumulative effect of trial counsels’ deficiencies deprived him of his right to a fair trial.1 After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

This is an appeal from an order suspending a mother’s parenting time until she completes a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 35 mental health evaluation. Because the order does not resolve all of the claims between the parties, we dismiss the appeal for lack of a final judgment.

In this conservatorship action, the trial court’s appointment of the ward’s stepdaughter as conservator has been appealed by the ward’s nephew and ostensibly the ward herself. Because the record leaves us unable to discern the basis of the trial court’s decisions, we vacate the trial court’s ruling and remand for the entry of an appropriate order.

Ambreia Washington (“the Defendant”) was convicted by a jury of, among other offenses, unlawful possession of a firearm. Before trial, the Defendant moved to suppress the firearm a law enforcement officer seized from the vehicle the Defendant was driving. The trial court denied the Defendant’s motion. On direct appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgments, including the trial court’s ruling on the suppression issue. We granted permission to appeal to determine the legality of the officer’s warrantless seizure of the firearm. We hold that the seizure was constitutionally permissible under the plain view doctrine. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld the conviction of Ambreia Washington, ruling that the warrantless seizure of a firearm from his vehicle did not violate the U.S. Constitution. In a unanimous opinion authored by Chief Justice Jeff Bivins, the court found that the handgun was properly seized under the “plain view exception,” which allows law enforcement officers to confiscate incriminating evidence seen in plain sight without a warrant. In this case, a Jackson Police Department officer responding to a car accident saw a handgun in the passenger seat and later learned that Washington was a convicted felon. The court concluded that the firearm was lawfully seized and admissible at trial. Justice Dwight E. Tarwater wrote a concurring opinion addressing the plain view doctrine’s “immediately apparent” requirement and its relationship to the Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

Emmitt Martin III, the only former Memphis police officer charged in connection with the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols who was still in custody, is being released from jail. Martin, who pleaded guilty last year to federal charges related to Nichols’ death, will be released today, The Daily Memphian reports. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman granted his release Tuesday after a nearly two-hour hearing. Martin was initially released on bond after being charged but was taken back into custody in February for allegedly harassing the mother of his child, violating his bond conditions. His attorneys said he has been held in solitary confinement since then, harming his mental and physical health. Under the conditions of his release, Martin must spend 90 days in a mental health treatment facility and continue treatment afterward. He also will be subject to GPS monitoring and drug testing and is prohibited from contacting his child, the child’s mother, or any of the other former officers charged in Nichols’ death. Lipman also suggested Martin’s sentencing, tentatively set for December, could be delayed if his co-defendants are granted new federal trials.

A federal judge in Nashville ruled there is a “realistic likelihood” the government acted vindictively in bringing human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador before being brought to Tennessee in June to face criminal charges. According to the Tennessee Lookout, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw’s ruling on Friday allows Abrego Garcia's attorneys to seek documents and testimony from Trump administration officials about their public remarks and the basis for the decision to pursue charges. In granting the request to proceed with this claim, Crenshaw cited the timeline of official actions leading up to the charges as evidence of the “potential unreasonableness of the prosecution.” Prosecutors have denied that the government acted with any “ill will” in the case. No date for a hearing has been set.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said he is considering establishing a night court to handle an anticipated surge in arrests from the federal Memphis Safe Task Force. Mulroy said the plan could be implemented within two weeks and operated at a low cost if the task force’s presence lasts no more than 60 days, according to the Citizen Tribune. The proposal would require cooperation from the sheriff’s and public defender’s offices to provide bailiffs, defense counsel and a judicial commissioner. Mulroy said the move could prevent the court system from becoming overwhelmed as daily arrests increase.

The TBA’s Tax Law Section will host a virtual roundtable discussion, “Tax Law 2025: Practice Management — How to Deal with the IRS,” on Oct. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. Members of the section’s executive council and other tax practitioners will share updates on recent IRS developments and explore how these changes affect attorneys’ ability to manage workloads and offices. The event will be held via Zoom, and participants are encouraged to engage in the interactive format. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

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