News
January 26, 2006
Former Chief Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., will end a 43-year judicial career, including 19 years of appellate court service, with his August 31 retirement from the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Birch, described by Gov. Phil Bredesen as “a trailblazer in the legal profession,” is the only Tennessee…
February 15, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has filed an order that could lead to a substantial reduction in the amount of paper handled by the state’s three offices of the appellate court clerk and also improve access to court records by making more of them available online.But, before electronic filing – or e-…
February 17, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and death sentence William Glenn Rogers received for the 1996 rape and murder of 9-year-old Jacqueline Beard, who was abducted as she picked blackberries near her Clarksville home.“We have reviewed all of the issues raised by Rogers and…
February 21, 2006
The Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission will hold two separate meetings to fill vacancies on the state Supreme Court being created by the Aug. 31 retirements of Justices E. Riley Anderson of Knoxville and Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., of Nashville, commission chairman Mike Bottoms said Monday.“I…
February 22, 2006
The death sentence Memphis jurors imposed on a man who raped and murdered his 13-year-old stepdaughter after luring her into a wooded area has been upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court.Charles Rice was sentenced to death for the June 18, 2000, stabbing murder of Emily Branch. The girl, whose body…
February 28, 2006
In a decision affirming the death sentence a Memphis man received for killing his girlfriend, the Tennessee Supreme Court has held for the first time that jurors’ identities may be withheld if their safety could be jeopardized by disclosing their names to criminal defendants.
Writing for a 4-1…
March 16, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence jurors imposed on a murderer who stabbed his frail 81-year-old victim 27 times and then shook the body to make sure he was dead before fleeing with stolen cash and other items.Steven James Rollins was convicted of killing bait shop owner…
March 16, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence inmate Stephen Lynn Hugueley received for stabbing a correctional officer 36 times, stopping only when the handle broke on a sharpened piece of metal he had devised as a weapon.Hugueley, who said he had no remorse for the murder, was an…
March 17, 2006
The Judge Advocate General of the United States Army, Major General Scott C. Black, has selected Circuit Court Judge, John D. McAfee, to be a Military Trial Judge for the 150th LSO. Lieutenant Colonel McAfee has been assigned to the Senior Military Judge Position at Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the…
March 27, 2006
Circuit Court Judge John A. Turnbull of Livingston is the recipient of the first annual Charlie Hardin Memorial Community Service Award, presented by the Putnam County Bar Association. The award was established in memory of Cookeville attorney Charlie Hardin, who recently died of cancer.“I can’t…
March 28, 2006
Term limits adopted by Shelby County voters for certain elected local officials are legal and constitutional, the Tennessee Supreme Court said in a unanimous decision filed Wednesday.
Under the Supreme Court ruling, plaintiffs in the case who have served two terms on the Shelby County Board of…
April 13, 2006
State Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker has been tapped by a Tennessee university and an Ohio law school as recipient of their 2006 Distinguished Alumni Awards.“To be Distinguished Alumni at one school is humbling, but to chosen for the award at both the University of Tennessee at…
April 17, 2006
Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge William C. Koch, Jr., is among “The 500 Leading Judges in America,” based on a months-long survey of lawyers and judges conducted by Lawdragon.com.“Our staff of reporters and editors spent several months interviewing thousands of lawyers and judges nationwide to…
April 27, 2006
Students from 18 Hamilton County high schools, along with 15 local home schooled students, will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases May 5 as participants in a program that educates young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 677 students and their teachers will…
May 3, 2006
Tennessee Attorney General Paul G. Summers announced today he will not seek a second term as Attorney General when his term expires in August.He has made no plans for his immediate future at this time, except to continue his work with the Jason Foundation, a national nonprofit foundation dedicated…
May 17, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker will deliver The Webb School commencement address at 1:30 p.m. May 26 at the historic campus in Bell Buckle.“My brother attended Webb School and I have many fond memories of visiting him while he was a student there,” the chief justice said. “…
May 24, 2006
A University of Tennessee College of Law scholarship in memory of long-time Knoxville attorney Robert W. Ritchie, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, has been established by the Tennessee Judicial Conference Foundation. Ritchie died April 28 after a battle…
June 2, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence Cocke County jurors imposed on a truck driver for his role in the contract killing of his wife who was shot at close range after being lured to a remote area.Jonathan Wesley Stephenson was first sentenced to death in 1990 for the first…
May 30, 2006
American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate Wednesday, May 31, in the SCALES Program, an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students. SCALES is a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative designed to educate young Tennesseans about…
June 6, 2006
Governor Bredesen appointed Gary R. Wade to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Wade, who has served as presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals since 1998, fills one of two vacancies created by the retirements of Justice E. Riley Anderson and Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.“Gary Wade is a highly…