News
October 4, 2004
Cocke County General Sessions Judge John A. Bell has been awarded the Bronze Star for his work in Iraq as the chief of the Northern Iraq Office of Judicial Operations (NIOJO).Bell is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, serving in the 3397th Garrison Support Unit in Chattanooga. He was called…
October 5, 2004
When Circuit Court Judge William Acree, Jr., of Union City took the lead to establish a drug court in his rural 27th Judicial District, marijuana and cocaine users were the impetus. Now, less than two years later, he said meth is the leading drug of choice for defendants accepted into the program."…
October 19, 2004
Sullivan County Juvenile Court Judge Steven Jones of Kingsport and Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons of Memphis have been appointed to the federal Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.The 18-member council coordinates federal juvenile delinquency programs,…
November 15, 2004
The names of more than 200 Tennessee appellate court judges who have served since 1796 when the state was founded are etched on imported black marble plaques to be unveiled at a 2 p.m. public ceremony, Wednesday, Nov. 17, at the Historic U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Building on Main Street in…
November 26, 2004
About 30 children clutching teddy bears, along with their new families, will be the focus of legal proceedings in Memphis Saturday, Nov. 20, presided over by Chancellor Arnold Goldin, who will open the courthouse doors to legalize their adoptions.As part of National Adoption Day, the chancellor…
December 10, 2004
Governor Phil Bredesen named two appointments to the 30 th Judicial District’s Criminal Courts, announcing Shelby County attorney Paula Skahan to fill a position in the Division 1 Criminal Court, and Assistant Shelby County Public Defender W. Mark Ward to fill a position in the Division 9 Criminal…
January 4, 2005
The Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission will meet Jan. 10 in Franklin for a public hearing followed by private interviews with 12 attorneys who have applied to fill a Circuit Court vacancy in the 21st Judicial District, including Hickman, Lewis, Perry and Williamson counties.The public hearing…
January 6, 2005
For the first time, judges in Tennessee will have mandatory guidelines to use in deciding whether certain court records may be sealed - or kept confidential - under a rule adopted Thursday by the Tennessee Supreme Court.The court entered an order adopting a number of amendments to the rules of…
January 18, 2005
Governor Phil Bredesen today announced that 17th Judicial District Assistant District Attorney General Robert G. Crigler will fill a vacancy in part one of the District's Circuit Court, created by the retirement of William Charles Lee of Lewisburg. The 17th Judicial District Circuit Court covers…
January 18, 2005
In a unanimous decision setting a new legal standard for finding reckless infliction of emotional distress, the Tennessee Supreme Court has cleared the way for a $68 million child sexual abuse lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville to go forward.
“We hold that reckless infliction…
January 21, 2005
Governor Phil Bredesen today announced that Fayette County General Sessions Judge J. Weber McCraw will fill a vacancy in part one of the 25th Judicial District's Circuit Court, created by the retirement of Jon Kerry Blackwood of Somerville. The 25th Judicial District Circuit Court covers Fayette,…
January 28, 2005
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a jury’s verdicts convicting a Memphis man and sentencing him to death for killing his wife by beating her in the head and face with a skillet and a horse shoe after she told him she wanted a divorce.Justice Janice Holder, writing for a majority of the court,…
February 3, 2005
Governor Phil Bredesen appointed Williamson County attorney Jeffrey S. Bivins to fill a vacancy in Division III of the 21 st Judicial District’s Circuit Court, created by the retirement of Judge Donald Paul Harris. The 21 st Judicial District Circuit Court covers Hickman, Lewis, Perry and…
March 4, 2005
n a series of seminars sponsored by the Administrative Office of the Courts and supported by a grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Office, judges across the state are being educated about legal issues in the impaired driving cases they hear."These educational seminars are providing general…
March 4, 2005
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the felony murder conviction and death sentence Memphis jurors imposed on Andrew Thomas, who shot an armored truck guard in the back of the head, stole his victim's money deposit bag and went on a shopping spree.Thomas was sentenced to death for the 1997…
March 5, 2005
Governor Phil Bredesen announced that Nashville attorney Donna M. Fields will fill a position in the 30th Judicial District, Division VII Circuit Court. The position was vacated by Judge Robert Lanier upon his retirement Dec. 31, 2003. "I am confident that Ms. Fields will serve with honor and…
April 4, 2005
Students from 17 public and private high schools in Giles, Lawrence, Maury and Wayne counties will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases as participants in a program created to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The 550 students and their teachers will…
April 5, 2005
Davidson County Chancellor Claudia C. Bonnyman has been awarded a State Justice Institute (SJI) scholarship to attend a 10-day General Jurisdiction course at the National Judicial College in Nevada.The award will cover tuition, transportation and lodging. Bonnyman and judges from across the country…
April 12, 2005
Calling jurors “full partners in court proceedings” and recognizing their “profound impact” on the state, the Tennessee Supreme Court has issued a proclamation designating May as Juror Appreciation Month.“Jury trials have been part of Anglo-American law for centuries, having been guaranteed in…
April 15, 2005
Tennessee’s criminal sentencing laws do not violate the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a jury trial and were not affected by two United States Supreme Court rulings last year addressing the authority of judges to enhance sentences, the state Supreme Court said Friday in a 3-2 decision.Chief Justice…