News
March 5, 2001
An oil portrait of Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joseph B. Jones, who was presiding judge when he died in 1998, will be unveiled at 1 p.m. Wednesday in a ceremony at the Supreme Court Building in Jackson.Jones, of Memphis, was appointed to the appellate court in 1986 by Gov. Lamar…
May 3, 2001
Chief Justice E. Riley Anderson announced Thursday he will step down as chief justice effective Sept.1, but will remain on the Tennessee Supreme Court. The five members of the court, including the chief justice, were re-elected in 1998 to eight-year terms.Anderson, of Knoxville, was elected chief…
May 31, 2001
Nearly 100 print and broadcast reporters and editors from across Tennessee have registered to attend the state’s first Law School for Journalists, co-sponsored by the Tennessee Supreme Court and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.“The Freedom Forum is a perfect…
June 26, 2001
Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, of Nashville was elected chief justice Tuesday by the Tennessee Supreme Court, effective Sept. 1. He will succeed Chief Justice E. Riley Anderson of Knoxville, who is stepping down from the position, but will remain on the court.Drowota, elected to the Supreme Court…
July 11, 2001
Jurors in 10 courtrooms across the state are participating in a new Tennessee Supreme Court jury reform pilot project aimed at improving conditions for citizens called to render verdicts in civil and criminal trials.The project, continuing until March 1, 2002, will assess the potential effect of 14…
July 23, 2001
City Court Judge Walter F. Williams of Chattanooga will attend training to enhance the quality of his performance on the bench and also could receive a 30 day suspension from office under terms of an agreement reached Monday with the state Court of the Judiciary."Although the charges against Judge…
August 22, 2001
Nearly 600 Sumner County high school students will participate Oct. 5 in a state Supreme Court program designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.Students and their teachers from nine schools, along with home-schooled students, will attend a special Supreme Court…
August 31, 2001
Criminal Court Judge J.O. Bond of Lebanon has completed a workshop on scientific evidence and expert testimony conducted at the National Judicial College. The 15th Judicial District judge received a scholarship from the State Justice Institute, a nonprofit organization created by federal law to…
November 29, 2001
For the first time since 1977, the Tennessee Supreme Court has unanimously found a death sentence disproportionate when compared to sentences imposed for similar Tennessee crimes. In a unanimous opinion authored by Chief Justice Frank. F. Drowota, III, and filed Thursday, the court modified the…
December 4, 2001
Executing mentally retarded individuals is cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by both the federal and state constitutions, the Tennessee Supreme Court said Tuesday in a ruling addressing the issue for the first time."We conclude that there is compelling evidence that the execution of mentally…
January 3, 2002
The state Judicial Selection Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Jan. 11 at the Holiday Inn (Exit 4) in Clarksville to conduct a public hearing and interview five attorneys applying for a Circuit Court vacancy in the 19th Judicial District, including Montgomery and Robertson counties.Oral and written…
January 4, 2002
For the first time, all Tennessee trial and appellate judges have the ability to conduct fast efficient legal research via the Internet. The Administrative Office of the Courts has signed a contract with LexisNexis to provide state judges across Tennessee with online access to cases, statutes,…
January 11, 2002
One of three Clarksville attorneys recommended Friday by the state Judicial Selection Commission will be appointed by Gov. Don Sundquist to fill a circuit court vacancy in the 19th Judicial District, including Montgomery and Robertson counties.As required by law, the 17-member bipartisan commission…
January 22, 2002
Tennessee’s changing cultural composition is providing new challenges for judges and court officials as they endeavor to ensure that language barriers are not barriers to equal justice.“The judicial system strives to serve and administer justice equally for all Tennesseans7, whether their ancestors…
January 25, 2002
A growing number of so-called “designer” courts dealing with certain cases involving limited legal issues such as drugs, mental health problems, domestic violence or DUI are proving their worth in Tennessee with lower rates of recidivism and higher rates of rehabilitation, according to judges.In…
February 5, 2002
Seven judicial system boards and commissions have new and reappointed members with terms effective January 1. The Supreme Court appointed members to fill expiring positions and also added two members to the expanded Board of Law Examiners.New Board of Law Examiners members are attorneys Robert E.…
February 11, 2002
More than 7,700 Tennessee children who are in foster care because they were abused, neglected or dependent will benefit from a new state Supreme Court rule establishing guidelines for lawyers appointed to represent them as guardians ad litem.“The guardian ad litem is appointed by the court to…
February 11, 2002
Judges involved in a jury reform pilot project in 10 courtrooms across the state have been authorized by the Tennessee Supreme Court to continue using some or all of the changes beyond the scheduled March 1 end of the experiment which was implemented to improve conditions for Tennessee jurors.In a…
February 14, 2002
Gov. Don Sundquist today announced that Ross H. Hicks, currently a partner with the Clarksville law firm Cunningham, Mitchell, Hicks, Patton, Peay & Rocconi, will fill the vacant seat in the 19th Judicial District. Hicks will replace Judge James Walton, who died on November 13, 2001 after 17…
March 26, 2002
The conviction and death sentence a Memphis jury handed down for the 1997 murder of an off-duty Memphis police officer was affirmed Tuesday by a majority of the Tennessee Supreme Court in an opinion written by Justice E. Riley Anderson of Knoxville.Timothy McKinney was convicted of premeditated…