The Defendant, Christopher Layne Spencer, was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Court jury of two counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and violating the sexual offender registration act, a Class E felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-504 (2018) (aggravated sexual battery); 40-39-211(k) (2019) (sexual offender registry). The Defendant was sentenced to an effective fourteen years for the convictions. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for violating the sexual offender registry, (2) the trial court erred by admitting text messages as evidence, (3) the trial court erred by denying his request for a mistrial, (4) the trial court erred by limiting his closing argument, (5) the prosecutor engaged in improper closing argument, (6) the trial court erred with its jury instructions, and (7) the cumulative effect of the alleged errors entitles him to relief. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant, Terrell Craft, appeals his Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions of second degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court’s omission of a jury instruction on the defense of necessity. Discerning no error, we affirm.

This interlocutory appeal involves the trial court’s denial of the employer’s motion for an extension of time to produce certain cell phone records responsive to a subpoena issued on behalf of the decedent’s surviving spouse. Prior to this motion, the employer filed a motion to quash the subpoena duces tecum seeking the decedent’s work and personal cell phone records. During the hearing, Employer argued the requested information was under the control of a separate corporate entity. The court denied the employer’s motion to quash, noting it offered no proof in support of that assertion. The court further rejected the employer’s arguments that it was unable to comply with the subpoena due to retention policies concerning text messages and lack of knowledge regarding the identity of the users of the requested cellular phone numbers. Finally, the court rejected the employer’s arguments that the records were irrelevant, contained confidential information, and that the production of these records would reveal private communications. The court ordered the employer to provide the requested information by certain deadlines, and that order was not appealed. The employer later obtained two extensions of time to comply with the subpoena, ultimately filing a notice of partial compliance and another motion for an extension. The trial court denied the most recent motion, noting the previous extensions, the employer’s changing position as to why it could not produce the records, and the employer’s failure to provide evidence of its inability to comply. Upon careful consideration of the record, we affirm the trial court’s order denying the motion for an extension of time and remand the case.

The University of Memphis announced that all campuses, including the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, would continue modified operational status this week, including virtual classes. Law students should monitor their emails for additional details regarding plans for the remainder of the week. Check www.memphis.edu or the school's Facebook page for updates.

For the week of January 15, 2024 - January 19, 2024

The Tennessee Bar Association has submitted a comment to the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) regarding the licensure of court reporters and the sunsetting of the Board of Court Reporting. Recently, the TDCI identified the Board of Court Reporting as a regulatory body that is no longer needed. Among other things, the TDCI noted that the board meets only twice a year and has relatively few complaints to deal with. Given that the purpose of most regulatory boards is to protect the public, in this instance the TDCI believes that the public is well protected, and there is no longer a need to have a regulatory board in place. Last week, the TBA publicized the request for public comment, and also polled section members to determine their respective opinions on the issue. While some comments agreed with the TDCI’s position that the board is unnecessary and is not needed to protect the public, the majority of comments expressed support for the continued regulation of court reporters. The TBA has thoughtfully considered TDCI’s rationale in recommending to sunset the board, but respectfully believes that the very existence of the board serves the critical function of protecting the public, which is a paramount consideration for the creation or continuation of any state board. Read the full comment.

Tennessee legislators intend to thwart future legal challenges to the state’s franchise tax by eliminating a provision in the 1935 law that faces a “pending challenge," state Revenue Commissioner David Gerregano said last week. According to the Tennessee Journal, Gerregano told Senate Finance Chair Bo Watson, R-Hixson, that tax experts in his department identified a “significant legal risk” in the way the tax is structured, which could prove “extremely costly” to Tennessee taxpayers. Companies doing business in Tennessee face paying business franchise and excise taxes of 0.25%. The franchise tax is projected to raise $1.732 billion in the current budget year.

University of Tennessee College of Law student Kevin Escalona won "The Closer," the nation’s most challenging transactional law competition, on Jan. 14. Hosted by Baylor Law School in Waco, Texas, 14 law schools are invited annually to compete. Unlike most competitions, each school can send only one student. Each competitor is given only 24 hours to digest their client’s extensive files and prepare to negotiate a deal. This year’s competition challenged the law students to negotiate an agreement between Hotel 1928 (a historic hotel renovated by Chip and Joanna Gaines of Magnolia and Fixer Upper fame), and Neighborly Inc., a Waco-based home service provider. The competitors learned that Neighborly Inc. wants to host a conference at Hotel 1928 during the April 2024 solar eclipse. The competitors negotiated use of the hotel and its restaurants and terms for employment of entertainers, insurance for outdoor liquor sales, use of trademarks and advertising. 

The Barristers, the Young Lawyer’s Division of the Knoxville Bar Association (KBA), annually hosts the Regional High School Mock Trial Competition for Competition Districts 2, 3 and 4 every year. The 2024 regional competition is slated to occur at the Knoxville City-County Building on Feb. 16 (Round 1) and Feb. 17 (Rounds 2-4). The Regional Championship (Round 5) will be held Feb. 18 in the Business Courtroom at LMU’s Duncan School of Law. Volunteers are needed to serve as bailiffs, scoring judges and presiding judges. To volunteer, fill out this form. Read the press release from the KBA.

The Shelby County register of deeds has created a free fraud alert program to monitor real property filings after several elderly residents were scammed using quitclaim deeds, WREG Memphis reports. A recent case involves an 89-year-old man, Archie Foster, whose caretaker allegedly stole more than $200k and had his house transferred to her using a quitclaim deed after becoming his power of attorney. The deed was completed and approved by a Tennessee notary. “[The notary] shouldn’t have prepared the deed,” said TBA Estate Planning & Probate Section member and Foster’s lawyer Gary Jewel. “The notary public, under Tennessee law, are not authorized to prepare the deed.” Jewel soon filed a motion maintaining Foster was unduly influenced, asking for the court to appoint a conservator. Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes ultimately declared the quitclaim null and appointed Foster’s brother as his conservator. Shelby County Register of Deeds Willie Brooks said his office recorded approximately 35,000 quit claim and transfer warranty deeds last year but it's unclear how many could have been fraudulent. There was one more quitclaim-related case last year in Shelby County which resulted in criminal charges, and a case in 2022 where a Memphis couple fraudulently transferred several homes to a business they owned.