A Knox County jury convicted the Defendant, Charlie Richard Martinez, of first degree felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus four years. On appeal, the Defendant argues: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court abused its discretion in admitting three different writings attributed to the Defendant as autobiographical rap lyrics; (3) the trial court committed plain error in allowing the State to amend the especially aggravated robbery count the morning of trial; (4) the trial court erred in allowing Kendra Ivey to testify to double hearsay; (5) the trial court abused its discretion in denying his Specific Discovery Request No. 1, which requested materials necessary for his state-funded expert; and (6) the cumulative effect of these errors deprived him of a fair trial. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

After a second jury trial in the Shelby County Criminal Court, the Defendant, Alan Johnson, was convicted of two counts of first degree felony murder, one count of aggravated child abuse, and one count of aggravated child neglect. The trial court sentenced him to life for each murder conviction and merged those convictions. The trial court sentenced him to twenty-five years each for the aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect convictions, Class A felonies, and ordered that he serve all of the sentences consecutively for a total effective sentence of life plus fifty years. On appeal, the Defendant claims that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions; (2) his second trial violated double jeopardy; (3) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress his statement to police; (4) the trial court committed plain error by allowing a medical examiner to testify about the victim’s autopsy report when the witness did not prepare the report; (5) the State’s prosecutorial misconduct during cross-examination of the defense’s expert witness constituted plain error; (6) the trial court erred by not admitting his entire 911 call into evidence; (7) the trial court’s denial of his request to have retained counsel represent him on his motion for new trial violated his constitutional right to counsel of choice; (8) his effective sentence is excessive; and (9) he is entitled to relief based on cumulative error.1 Upon our review, we conclude that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction of first degree felony murder in the perpetration of aggravated child neglect and that the trial court incorrectly ordered the Defendant to serve one hundred percent of his sentence for aggravated child neglect. Therefore, the Defendant’s conviction of first degree felony murder in the perpetration of aggravated child neglect in count four is reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for correction of the judgment for aggravated child neglect in count three. The Defendant’s remaining convictions and effective sentence of life plus fifty years are affirmed.

The Defendant, Marion Brock Foreman, was convicted at a bench trial by the Henderson County Circuit Court of twenty counts of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony drug offense and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. See T.C.A. § 39- 17-1307 (Supp. 2021) (subsequently amended) (unlawful possession of a firearm); § 39- 17-425 (2018) (possession of drug paraphernalia). He was found not guilty of ten counts of possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous offense involving the felony sale or delivery of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell or deliver. After merger, he received an effective sentence of eight years with a 35% release eligibility for five counts of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony drug offense and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence derived from the search of his property and home. We conclude that the trial court erred, reverse the judgments of the court, vacate the convictions, and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Petitioner, Lamonte Cole, appeals from the order of the Madison County Circuit Court denying post-conviction relief. Upon review, we affirm.

This election contest action is before this Court for the second time on appeal. The plaintiff, Robin M. McNabb, initially sought a judgment declaring the August 2022 election for Lenoir City Municipal Court Judge void because the defendant, Gregory H. Harrison, who had received the greatest number of votes, did not meet the one-year “district” residency requirement set forth in Article VI, Section 4 of the Tennessee Constitution. After the trial court dismissed Ms. McNabb’s complaint and this Court affirmed the dismissal, our Supreme Court reversed those decisions upon holding that Article VI, Section 4 required a candidate to have been a resident of the municipality for at least one year prior to the election. McNabb v. Harrison, 710 S.W.3d 653 (Tenn. 2025) (“McNabb I”). On remand, the trial court declared the election void. Mr. Harrison subsequently filed a motion to set aside that order predicated on a newly enacted statute, Tennessee Code Annotated § 16- 18-206, which provides that the McNabb I decision “shall apply prospectively and shall be enforced beginning with the next regularly scheduled election for any affected municipal judgeship after May 21, 2025.” See Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-18-206(c). Ms. McNabb filed a response opposing Mr. Harrison’s motion, and she filed a motion to amend her complaint wherein she requested that she be declared the “winner” of the August 2022 election. The trial court granted Mr. Harrison’s motion to set aside the order and denied Ms. McNabb’s motion to amend her complaint. The trial court found, inter alia, that Ms. McNabb had failed to properly raise a constitutional challenge to § 16-18-206. Ms. McNabb has appealed. Upon thorough review, we determine that Ms. McNabb sufficiently raised a constitutional challenge to § 16-18-206. We therefore reverse the trial court’s finding that Ms. McNabb did not raise a constitutional challenge, vacate the trial court’s grant of Mr. Harrison’s motion to set aside, and remand for the trial court to consider the constitutionality of § 16-18-206 and to reconsider Mr. Harrison’s motion to set aside. However, we affirm the trial court’s finding that under the precepts

This appeal arises from a final judgment in a divorce action without children. The wife appeals contending the trial judge was biased against her, the judge erred by denying her petition for divorce while granting the husband’s counterpetition for divorce, and the judge erred in allocating marital assets and debts. Finding no error, we affirm.

The TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) Class of 2026 met in Memphis on Thursday and Friday this week for its “Issues in Community Leadership” program. The class toured St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and were welcomed by Sara Hall, chief legal officer and general counsel at ALSAC, the fundraising organization for St. Jude. University of Memphis School of Law Professor Daniel Kiel and members of the Memphis 13 — the African American first-graders who integrated four all-white Memphis elementary schools in 1961 — shared their experiences with the class. The group also heard from Bruce McMullen of Baker Donelson and Van Turner of Turner Field Law. Additional highlights included a welcome from TBALL co-chairs Geoffrey Lewis and John Wilks, a Myers-Briggs leadership assessment led by Linda Bailey, a “Lunch & Learn” with Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby and a caucus with Justice Mary Wagner. An optional tour of the National Civil Rights Museum was also offered. See photos from the events.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said Tuesday that the state owes the county millions for housing state inmates at the Shelby County Penal Farm, claiming the unpaid costs contributed to the county’s budget deficit, Action News 5 reports. Harris said it cost nearly $30 million last year to house inmates and that money had to be drawn from the county’s general fund. Shelby County Division of Corrections currently has 959 Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) inmates. “Shelby County taxpayers are being asked to pay a bill that is not theirs,” Harris said, adding that if the state does not pay, the county could face a tax increase. County attorneys said negotiations with the state broke down in July 2024, and the TDOC has not paid for any inmates since. The news outlet said TDOC could not be reached for comment.

TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is new this week with TBA attorneys and lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin of Adams & Reese. In this episode, they discuss the state of the legislature after Winter Storm Fern, bills being assigned to committees and the timeline for this year's legislative session. Tune in to the podcast on the TBA website or through this link.

North Carolina lawyer John Charles Bircher III was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Feb. 9. Bircher was placed on inactive status more than five years ago on Sept. 5, 2018. The Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed his petition for reinstatement and found it be appropriate. The court issued the order on Feb. 12.