A lawsuit seeking to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office will proceed even as her term is set to end in September. The Tennessee Supreme Court denied Halbert’s appeal of a lower court decision allowing the ouster case to move forward and found that the county attorney has the authority to bring the lawsuit, according to Action News 5. Halbert has faced repeated scrutiny in recent years, including calls for her removal over audit findings and concerns about management of the clerk’s office.

Volunteers are needed for an Essential Documents Clinic at the Cannon County Senior Center located at 609 Lehman St. in Woodbury on April 20 from noon to 2 p.m. CDT. The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennesseee and the Cumberlands and the TBA Young Lawyers Division will be assisting seniors will simple wills, durable power of attorneys and advance medical directives. For more information see the attached flyer. To volunteer email Alyssa Fox at afox@las.org.

Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Sumner, confirmed he will run to become Tennessee’s next speaker of the Senate and lieutenant governor, Gallatin News reports. Haile, a Gallatin native who has represented District 18 — which includes Sumner and Trousdale counties — since 2013, will seek the Republican nomination for speaker. Under the Tennessee Constitution, the Senate speaker also serves as lieutenant governor and is next in line should the governor’s office become vacant. Haile currently serves as Senate speaker pro tempore, a position he has held since 2018. Meanwhile, three candidates have entered the race to succeed Lt. Gov. Randy McNally in Senate District 5. McNally announced in February he would not run again.

The Tennessee Bar Association’s online renewal for 2026-2027 is now open! Renew your membership to continue your access to TBA Today, the Tennessee Bar Journal, three free hours of CLE, resources for starting and building a new firm, and free legal research tool, as well as savings on a range of products and services. Be sure to check out TBA's new pro bono portal, solo health insurance plan and expanded discounts on travel. Attorneys not participating in the TBA's firm billing program can log in and renew through their MyTBA dashboard. The TBA membership team will be working with firm administrators for those participating in firm billing so check with your firm administrator if you have questions about that process.

John Peden Valliant Jr., age 78, died March 29. He graduated from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law and served in the U.S. Army National Guard during the Vietnam War era, returning to Knoxville where his law practice spanned five decades. Valliant was deeply involved in civic life and served as chair of the Knox County Democratic Party in 1982. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley, 6717 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919, or Helping Mamas, 10908 McBride Lane, Knoxville, TN 37932. A memorial gathering is being held today from 11 to 11:30 a.m. EDT at French Broad Veteran's Memorial Park, 2302 E. Gov. John Sevier Highway, Knoxville 37914, overlooking the river at the court of flags.

Defendant, Gerald Elijah Crossley, challenges his Madison County Circuit Court jury convictions of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, aggravated assault, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, arguing that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of Defendant’s alleged gang affiliation and expert testimony about gang-related activities and that the evidence was insufficient to establish his identity as the perpetrator. Because we conclude that the trial court did not err in admitting the challenged evidence and that the evidence was sufficient to support Defendant’s convictions, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Jennifer Leigh Sexton, was convicted in the Knox County Criminal Court of vehicular homicide by recklessness, a Class C felony; initiating a false report, a Class D felony; driving on a suspended license, a Class B misdemeanor; and following too closely, a Class C misdemeanor, and received an effective sentence of ten years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant claims that (1) the trial court abused its discretion by admitting testimony from the State’s expert because the expert’s method of data collection was unreliable, (2) the trial court erred by failing to provide the Defendant’s requested special jury instructions, and (3) the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction of initiating a false report. Based on our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Defendant, Charles Hubert Russell, was indicted for unlawful possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony drug offense. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that the indicted charge violated the Second Amendment. After the trial court denied the motion, Defendant pled guilty to the indicted charge but reserved the right to appeal a certified question of law pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(A) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure pertaining to whether his conviction violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. After reviewing the entire record, the briefs and oral arguments of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The plaintiffs in a health care liability action moved to continue the trial date due to health issues from which one of the plaintiffs was purportedly suffering. The trial court denied the motion to continue, and the plaintiffs’ counsel informed the trial court that the plaintiffs would not be attending the trial, despite the denial of their motion for continuance. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the case due to the plaintiffs’ failure to prosecute the case and the plaintiffs’ noncompliance with a pretrial order. The trial court dismissed the case with prejudice. The plaintiffs unsuccessfully moved to alter or amend the dismissal order and ultimately appealed to this Court. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

A judgment creditor domesticated a Georgia judgment in Tennessee under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. When the creditor sought to enforce the domesticated judgment, the debtor raised a statute-of-limitations defense. The trial court ruled that the enforcement action was time-barred because the limitations period began to run when the foreign judgment was rendered in Georgia. Upon review, we conclude that domestication of the foreign judgment under the Uniform Act resulted in a new Tennessee judgment for purposes of the statute of limitations. So we reverse the trial court’s decision.