The Defendant, Fredrick Devell Rice Jr., entered guilty pleas to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence, and felony drug possession with intent to sell. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of ten years and placed the Defendant on probation after service of twelve months incarceration. The Defendant subsequently tested positive for fentanyl and norfentanyl four times. At the Defendant’s probation violation hearing, the Defendant objected to an assessment report the State offered through a witness who did not prepare it as inadmissible hearsay, which was overruled by the trial court. The trial court revoked the Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the remainder of his sentence. In this appeal, the sole issue presented for our review is whether the trial court erred in admitting the testimony from the assessment report. After review, we affirm.

Defendant, Sentrell Pittman, was indicted by the Shelby County Grand Jury for one count each of rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, and rape. A jury convicted Defendant as charged, and following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective thirty- year sentence. Defendant appeals, arguing that: 1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; 2) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion to compel the victim to submit to a mental evaluation; 3) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion to allow the jury to visit the scenes of the incidents; 4) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment based on the State’s violation of State v. Ferguson; and 5) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 412 seeking to allow cross-examination of the victim regarding her prior sexual history. Finding no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Mother and Father appeal the termination of their parental rights to their two shared children. We conclude the trial court properly found that the Department of Children’s Services proved by clear and convincing evidence at least one ground for termination as to each parent and that termination of parental rights is in the children’s best interest. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s termination of parental rights.

The plaintiff seeks recusal of the trial judge pursuant to Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 10B. The trial judge denied the plaintiff’s sixth motion to recuse. The plaintiff’s Rule 10B petition fails to comply with the rule, and the grounds for recusal offered are without merit. We affirm the trial court’s decision.

In this declaratory judgment action, the trial court denied the appellant’s motions, filed one year after a decision from this Court affirming the trial court’s final judgment, seeking to intervene as a party in the lawsuit and to “correct” the trial court’s previous order. The trial court also awarded sanctions to the opposing party pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 11. The appellant timely appealed these rulings. Following our thorough review, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the appellant’s motion to intervene as untimely. However, we vacate the trial court’s award of Rule 11 sanctions and remand for the limited purpose of allowing the trial court to make the appropriate findings concerning its adjudication of the Rule 11 motion, including the ability to hold a hearing, if necessary, regarding the factual analysis required by Rule 11. The appellant’s other issues are pretermitted due to his status as a non-party. We decline to award attorney’s fees incurred on appeal to the appellee, and we further decline to impose sanctions against the appellee’s counsel for representations made during oral argument.

The Trump administration on Monday released over 240,000 pages of FBI surveillance records on Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his family and civil rights groups who called for empathy and historical context in reviewing them. King’s two living children, Martin III and Bernice, reiterated in a statement their belief that James Earl Ray was not solely responsible for their father's assassination and emphasized the FBI’s efforts under J. Edgar Hoover to discredit King and the Civil Rights Movement. While the release was framed by officials as a step toward transparency, critics — including civil rights leaders — view it as a political distraction. The files, which were intended to be sealed until 2027 and were unsealed early by court order, are expected to offer researchers new material, though it remains unclear whether they will shed significant new light on King’s life, work or death. The Associated Press has the story.

State lawmakers Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, and Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, plan to renew efforts to give an appointed board oversight powers over Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), arguing the district is too large to manage effectively. They say a $6 million state-funded forensic audit of MSCS, expected soon, could justify a compromise on their stalled takeover legislation, which advanced through several committees last session. The Daily Memphian reports that while some Memphis residents support the proposals — especially amid frustration with leadership changes and low test scores — others view them as overreach that undermines local control and unconstitutionally targets a single district. Both lawmakers, who represent suburban areas, also have floated the idea of breaking up MSCS into smaller districts, citing poor academic outcomes compared to wealthier neighboring systems.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division will continue its CLE Exploration Series this fall with the addition of the inaugural "Does it Please the Court?" program. On Oct. 10, join Tennessee State Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby and Justice Mary Wagner at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park outside Memphis. Don't miss this unique opportunity to meet with the justices and hear their insights. Memphis attorney Jessica Van Dyke from the Innocence Project will have a presentation on "Outside of the Box Advocacy." Memphis attorney and TBA YLD past president, Quinton Thompson, will lead a panel of attorneys on "The Ethics of Saying 'No': Boundaries, Clients and Conscience." Earn three dual credits all while networking and enjoying the natural beauty of one of Tennessee's state parks. The program will begin at 9 a.m. CDT with sessions running from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The program will include lunch and a ranger-led hike. For more information and to register, click here.

Join the TBA Young Lawyers Division on Sept 24 at noon CDT for the next installment of its Rookie Series: Making the Most of Mediation. The webcast will feature Tennessee attorney and Rule 31 Civil Mediator Susan McDonald as she addresses the preparation needed by lawyer-advocates for mediation sessions. Learn more and register on the TBA website.

A federal judge has permanently blocked a portion of a Tennessee law passed last year that makes it a felony to intentionally recruit, harbor or transport a pregnant minor for an abortion without parental consent. The ruling stems from a June 2024 lawsuit filed by Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, and a Nashville family law attorney who raised concerns over the portion of the law that criminalized anyone who “recruits” a minor for an abortion, calling the language unconstitutional and vague. The term “recruit” is not defined in state code, which opponents argue could violate the First Amendment. Senior 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Julia Gibbons, sitting as a district judge by designation, appeared to agree with those concerns, stating that “Tennessee cannot criminalize ‘disseminating information about an activity that is legal in another state.’” The Tennessean has more on the story. U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger in September 2024 temporarily blocked enforcement of the same recruitment provision, citing nearly identical concerns.