News
May 29, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an Order soliciting comments on proposed amendments to Rule 13, which governs appointment, qualifications, and compensation of counsel for indigent defendants. The proposed rule changes are a result of a $9.7 million increase in indigent defense spending passed by…
May 21, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court is scheduled to hold oral arguments before an accomplished group of Tennessee’s high school students at American Legion Boys State. 2018 marks the eighteenth year of this memorable tradition, both for the students and the justices.The Court session is just one…
May 18, 2018
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark has been named the 2018 recipient of the Tennessee Bar Association’s prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award. The Justice Drowota Award is the TBA’s highest award for service to the judiciary and has been given…
May 16, 2018
Ten years ago, the Tennessee Supreme Court made access to justice its top strategic priority, and over the years one thing has become abundantly clear: improving access to legal services in Tennessee is a collaborative effort. In its first-ever annual report, the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to…
May 15, 2018
The 22-year-old man wanted to find a better job, but like many Tennesseans he had a criminal history that kept him stuck in a rut of unsteady, low-wage positions. To make matters worse, the man owed hefty court fees and costs associated with his past offenses. Under Tennessee law, those debts had…
May 10, 2018
The State Justice Institute (“SJI”) has awarded the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (“AOC”) a Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grant to work with the National Center for State Courts (“NCSC”) to develop and implement a training curriculum to assist in expanding business court…
May 9, 2018
Two judges who were instrumental in the long fight to desegregate Nashville’s public schools will be honored Friday at the third annual Francis S. Guess Bridge to Equality Fund Luncheon.The luncheon, presented by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, will recognize State Court of Appeals…
May 4, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended a Rutherford County attorney, James Carl Cope, for an additional 25 months. Mr. Cope was temporarily suspended in October 2016, and he requested that his final suspension be retroactive to the date of his initial suspension. The Court rejected…
May 4, 2018
Kristi Robbins Rezabek, staff attorney for the Tennessee Court of Appeals, passed away on May 4, 2018 at the age of 57. She worked for the Court of Appeals since 2006 and was based in the Jackson Supreme Court Building. She had previously worked as regional general counsel and senior staff attorney…
April 17, 2018
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate has been named to a national committee tasked with helping states collaborate across branches and agencies to address the issue of child safety. The Three Branch Institute Advisory Committee will develop a toolkit…
April 20, 2018
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins recently spoke at a conference devoted to exploring the issue of childhood poverty. The Summit on Children: The Science and Story of Poverty, was held at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, Tennessee. The Summit, presented by…
May 2, 2018
The May 1 primary elections that were held in 57 Tennessee counties mainly involved selecting general election candidates for county positions like mayor and county commissioner. Several counties also had judicial nominees on the ballot as a result of vacancies or temporary appointments that had…
April 27, 2018
The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation this session funding three new judge positions in Tennessee. The new positions will be in the state’s 19th Judicial District, which serves Montgomery and Robertson counties; the 16th Judicial District, which includes Rutherford and Cannon counties;…
April 24, 2018
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark was recently honored with the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from Vanderbilt University Law School at the school’s Founders Circle Dinner.
The Distinguished Service Award “is given annually to the person or people who best represent the…
April 20, 2018
Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate recently moderated an opioid-related discussion at the National Association of Attorneys General’s Southern Regional Meeting. Also participating as one of four panelists in the discussion was Judge Duane Slone, who serves in the…
April 19, 2018
Self-represented litigants in eight Tennessee counties will soon be able to enjoy convenient access to valuable legal information and resources thanks to a series of grants provided by the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Administrative Office of the Courts. The grants will cover the expense of…
April 18, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) as the key testing component for bar admission for aspiring Tennessee attorneys. The UBE is a nationwide test that has been adopted in 31 jurisdictions and allows test takers to transfer scores between states, greatly improving the…
April 16, 2018
Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota III, whose decades-long career as a judge earned him the admiration and respect of innumerable Tennesseans both inside and outside the legal system, passed away Sunday, April 15, 2018, at the age of 79.Justice Drowota’s 25 years on the…
April 11, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court clarified when a new legal ruling issued after a criminal trial should be applied to a case retroactively and what standards an appellate court should apply to decide whether the new rule affords a defendant relief.These issues were presented in Christopher Minor’s…
April 10, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court held today that Metro Nashville must hold a special election to fill the Office of Mayor. The decision reversed a ruling of the Davidson County Chancery Court that upheld the action of the Davidson County Election Commission (“Commission”) in setting the election to…