News
June 16, 2006
A new state-of-the-art $49 million criminal justice building will be dedicated at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, in honor of Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., who is retiring Aug. 31 after 37 years of judicial service at every level of the court system.Birch BuildingThe A.A. Birch…
June 21, 2006
Award named for Drowota to be given each year to a Tennessee judgeFormer Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota was awarded the naugural Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award for Outstanding Judicial Service during the Tennessee Bar Association’s annual convention in Memphis last week.…
July 11, 2006
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole has been awarded a State Justice Institute (SJI) scholarship to attend a General Jurisdiction course July 9-20 at the National Judicial College in Reno, NV.The award covers tuition, transportation and lodging. Poole and judges from across the country…
July 14, 2006
Voters will be allowed to decide in November whether they want a constitutional ban on gay marriage in Tennessee, the state Supreme Court said in a unanimous decision filed Friday.Had a legal challenge been successful, a public vote on the proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution would have…
August 14, 2006
Randy Camp, administrative director of the state court system, announced Monday he is leaving the position because of personal matters requiring his time and attention in West Tennessee.“For the past several months I have been dealing with personal matters involving my family in West Tennessee,”…
August 25, 2006
Incumbent and newly-elected Knox County judges and chancellors are among judicial officials being sworn in during a ceremony at 4 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Supreme Court Building, 505 Main St., Knoxville. Knoxville Bar Association President Steve Collins will preside over the 6th Judicial District event.…
August 29, 2006
Just days after retiring from a long legal and judicial career, Justice E. Riley Anderson will don his robe and sit with the Tennessee Supreme Court in Knoxville to hear 11 cases, including arguments concerning the validity of the Knox County Charter.“Because we have only four members of the court…
September 12, 2006
The 12-member Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has elected Judge Joseph M. Tipton of Knoxville as its presiding judge.As presiding judge, Tipton will be responsible for setting court dockets, including determining who will serve on the court’s three-member panels, where they will sit and when.…
September 12, 2006
The day, which is meant to bring attention to non-adversarial options for conflict resolution, corresponds to International Conflict Resolution Day, which is observed each year on the third Thursday in October.To celebrate Mediation Day and focus public attention on the benefits of dispute…
September 14, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade will be sworn in by Gov. Phil Bredesen during a formal investiture ceremony at 2 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Sevier County Courthouse. The public is invited.
“I am deeply honored that the governor is traveling to my home town to take part in an event that is so…
October 18, 2006
Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes, former deputy director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), has been named administrative director of the state court system effective immediately, Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker announced Wednesday.
“This was not a difficult decision for the…
October 30, 2006
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., legal counsel to Gov. Phil Bredesen, was appointed Tuesday by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve an eight-year term as state attorney general and reporter. Chief Justice William M. Barker will administer the oath of office to Cooper at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Old Supreme…
November 9, 2006
Students from 19 public and private Shelby County high schools will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases Nov. 14 as participants in a program that educates young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The 400 students and their teachers will attend a special Supreme Court…
November 13, 2006
Four siblings are among 20 children who will leave the courtroom of Shelby County Chancellor Arnold Goldin on Saturday, Nov. 18, with new families, new last names and new teddy bears to help them celebrate the positive changes in their young lives.As part of National Adoption Day, Goldin will open…
November 14, 2006
For Chancellor Thomas (Skip) Frierson, Nov. 18, National Adoption Day, will be special for two reasons - personally, because he and his wife Jane have three adopted children, and professionally as he helps create permanency in the lives of seven young Tennesseans.Frierson, of Morristown, will open…
November 15, 2006
Governor Phil Bredesen today appointed Dea Kelly Thomas, Jr. to serve on Tennessee’s Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Division.Thomas, who now serves as a Circuit Court Judge for the state’s Fifth Judicial District, fills a vacancy created when his predecessor, Justice Gary Wade, was appointed to…
November 20, 2006
Retired Criminal Court Judge Bernie Weinman of Memphis has been retained to fill a new position as assistant disciplinary counsel for the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, Presiding Judge Steven Stafford, chancellor for the 29th judicial district, said Monday.Weinman retired in 2004 after serving…
November 27, 2006
Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Childers of Memphis has been appointed to another term on an American Bar Association commission created to assist lawyers and other legal professionals with addictions, mental health issues and other personal problems that impact their ability to practice law.ABA…
November 27, 2006
Even with the wisdom that 23 years on the bench brings, Circuit Court Judge (Div. 5) Kay Spalding Robilio has not stopped learning. She sees the value in gleaning from our nation’s founding fathers the understanding necessary to tackle issues of present day and ultimately to unlock truths in the…
December 26, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and death sentences Paul Dennis Reid received for the execution-style murders of three Nashville McDonald’s employees who were shot to death after being forced to lie face down on the floor.In a majority opinion written by Justice Gary R. Wade…