The death of a Shelby County Jail inmate last year was caused by a drug overdose, according to an official autopsy report. According to the Daily Memphian, Marcel Hutton was found unresponsive around 7 p.m. CST Dec. 21 and was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Hutton was one of 13 inmates who died at the jail in 2025. He was in custody on a second-degree murder charge related to a 2024 shooting in his Millington home. According to reports, his cellmate said Hutton had been smoking K2 liquid, a form of synthetic marijuana, prior to his death. It remains unclear how drugs and other contraband entered the jail, though guards have been charged with smuggling items inside in the past.

Smyrna attorney Ingrid Klose died April 21 at age 73. Klose earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law and began practicing in 1995. She focused her practice on general civil matters, including estate planning, veterans benefits and limited immigration cases. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to Smyrna First Presbyterian Church, 540 Sam Ridley Pkwy. W., Smyrna, TN 37167 or the Smyrna Rotary Club Foundation, P.O. Box 353 Smyrna, TN 37167. Information about a celebration of life at Smyrna Presbyterian Church will be announced when available.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court are accepting nominations for the 2026 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award until May 8. The annual award is presented to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. This year's award will be presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the Eastern Grand Division. Nominees must be alive when nominations are submitted but they need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The award will be presented at the TBA's Annual Convention, which will be held in Knoxville June 10-13. See past recipients of the award.

Make plans now to join the TBA Mentoring Committee and the TBA Young Lawyers Division for this month's mentoring meetup in Nashville. The gathering will take place April 30 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CDT at Streetcar Taps, 1325 3rd Ave. N., Nashville 37208. Come connect, build relationships and enjoy your time with the mentoring community! Learn more about the TBA Mentoring Committee on the TBA website.

Early bird registration for the TBA’s 2026 Annual Convention ends April 30, and hotel reservations are due by May 8 at 5 p.m. EDT. The convention, set for June 10-13 in downtown Knoxville, will offer annual favorites such as the Public Service Breakfast, Lawyers Luncheon, compelling CLE and swearing in of TBA’s new president, as well as the Wednesday night welcome reception and a Thursday evening reception at Knoxville’s minor league ballpark. This year’s gathering also will include TBA’s first-ever Tech Showcase and lunch and learn opportunities with tech vendors on June 11. Day passes for Thursday are available for those who unable to attend the full convention.

Andrew Wylie, Petitioner, filed a pro se petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus (“the Habeas Petition”), claiming that his sentence had expired and that he was being illegally restrained of his liberty due to the trial court’s refusal to award sentence credits for the time Petitioner served while on community corrections (“street credit”). The trial court summarily dismissed the Habeas Petition for failing to state a colorable claim. Because Petitioner failed to follow the mandatory procedural provisions of the habeas corpus statute, we affirm the trial court’s summary dismissal of the Habeas Petition.

The Defendant, Cliesha D. Tedunjaye, was convicted in the Madison County Circuit Court of driving under the influence (“DUI) and DUI per se, Class A misdemeanors; possessing a handgun while under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor; violating the open container law, a Class C misdemeanor; and failing to maintain her lane of travel, a Class C misdemeanor. After a sentencing hearing, the Defendant received an effective sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days to be served as forty-eight hours in jail and the remainder on probation supervised by community corrections. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support her convictions of DUI, DUI per se, and possession of a handgun while under the influence because the State failed to prove her intoxication. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Defendant, Timothy Christopher Pillow, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a violent felon, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, and identity theft. At sentencing, Defendant requested an alternative sentence under the Community Corrections Act. Instead, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of eleven years’ incarceration, finding that Defendant’s history of criminal conduct and the need to avoid depreciating the seriousness of the current offenses warranted confinement. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his request for community corrections. Following our review, we affirm.

This is an accelerated interlocutory appeal as of right, pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B, filed by Samuel Forrester Hunter (“Father”) seeking to recuse the trial judge in this case. Having reviewed the petition for recusal appeal filed by Father, and finding no error, we affirm the denial of the recusal motion.

Plaintiff appeals the dismissal of his claim for false imprisonment based on the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations. We reverse.