The Defendant, Michael Lurry, was charged by the Shelby County Grand Jury in a four- count indictment with first degree premeditated murder, theft of property valued at $60,000 or more but less than $250,000, attempted carjacking, and attempted theft of property valued at $2,500 or more but less than $10,000. The Defendant pled guilty to the attempted theft and theft counts of the indictment, the State nolle prosequied the attempted carjacking count, and the Defendant went to trial on the first degree murder count. Following his jury trial, the Defendant was convicted of the first degree premeditated murder count of the indictment. He was sentenced by the trial court to life imprisonment for the murder conviction, ten years for the theft conviction, and two years for the attempted theft conviction. Finding the Defendant to be an offender with an extensive criminal history, the trial court ordered that the Defendant serve all his sentences consecutively, for an effective sentence of life plus twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in support of his first degree premeditated murder conviction and argues that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a prior domestic abuse incident between the Defendant and the victim, by not allowing the Defendant to introduce the victim’s complete Cellebrite cell phone records, by sentencing the Defendant to the maximum and ordering consecutive sentences, and by admitting expert testimony that was outside the scope of the witness’s expertise and when the Defendant was not put on notice of the witness’s proposed areas of expertise. We affirm the Defendant’s convictions but remand for a new sentencing hearing for the trial court to consider the Defendant’s presentence report in determining whether the sentences should be served consecutively.

The Petitioner, Johnny B. Brooks, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for driving under the influence (“DUI”), eighth offense, driving on a revoked license due to a DUI, and a violation of the open container law. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Defendant, Richard Daran Angel, was indicted for one count of theft by home improvement in an amount of $10,000 or more but less than $60,000. Before trial, Defendant moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that the contractor fraud statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-154, was unconstitutionally vague, both on its face and as applied to him. After a hearing, the trial court granted Defendant’s motion and entered an order dismissing the indictment. The State appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that the contractor fraud statute was unconstitutionally vague at the pretrial stage because Defendant could not show that the statute was vague as applied to him. After review, we agree with the State and reverse and remand the judgment of the trial court.

Plaintiff brought claims against Knox County and the County Clerk based on allegedly discriminatory employment practices. The trial court determined that Plaintiff committed serious discovery violations and imposed as a sanction the exclusion of certain evidence. With this evidence excluded, the trial court granted summary judgment to the Defendants. Plaintiff appeals, challenging the discovery sanction, the trial court’s conclusion under the Tennessee Human Rights Act that the continuing violation doctrine did not apply, the trial court’s conclusion that the Clerk was not individually liable, and the award of attorney’s fees against the Plaintiff and her attorney. We affirm.

A mother appeals a juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights to her two children. We affirm the juvenile court’s decision that clear and convincing evidence established the existence of two statutory grounds for termination. Because the juvenile court’s order failed to make sufficient factual findings to support its best interest analysis, we vacate that portion of the court’s decision and remand for entry of an order making sufficient factual findings.

The trial court found a father guilty of nine counts of criminal contempt based on his alleged violation of the trial court’s previous order addressing child support arrearage and the current child support arrangement for the father’s minor child. Because the order appealed from contains no findings on the essential elements of criminal contempt, on what evidence supports the judgment, or on whether the criminal contempt was initiated on proper notice, we vacate and remand to the trial court.

February 2, 2026 - February 6, 2026.

Nashville lawyer Ben Bodzy, a former senior vice president of legal at Geodis and former shareholder at Baker Donelson, has launched Bodzy Law with offices in Tennessee and New Jersey. He currently is the sole attorney at the boutique practice. According to the Nashville Post, the firm will focus on plaintiff-side employment litigation and wage and hour class actions, as well as claims involving harassment, retaliation, discrimination and whistleblowing. “Our mission is simple: to maximize the value of every claim we handle,” Bodzy said in a release. Offices are located at 10 Burton Hills Blvd., Suite 400, Nashville, TN 37215 and 200 Connell Dr., Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 and can be reached at 866-455-6280.

The Bradley County Juvenile Court reported Friday that local rehabilitation efforts are producing strong outcomes, with data showing exceptionally low rates of youth transitioning into the adult criminal justice system. According to Chattanoogan.com, court officials said a review of 2024 and 2025 cases found only 11 individuals — about 1% of the court’s typical annual caseload of 500 to 600 youth — appeared before the juvenile court and later were convicted as adults. Four additional cases are pending. The court also cited Department of Children’s Services (DCS) data showing minimal state-level involvement, with just one youth committed to the state judicial diversion program and six on state probation. The juvenile court emphasized that improvements have come as it has focused on local solutions and collaboration with DCS to support families and prevent children from entering state custody.

The criminal records of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren have been wiped clean after a federal judge vacated their convictions. The Tennessean reports that U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson issued the two-page ruling on Feb. 5. In November, President Donald Trump pardoned both men of corruption convictions related to a scheme to defrauded taxpayers through a state-funded legislative mailer program. Former Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, who plead guilty in the case, was not pardoned, but her sentence was reduced in January from eight months in prison to one year of probation.