News

December 10, 2015
Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr., of Knoxville, has announced that he will step down at the end of the year as Chief Judge of the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Susano has been chief judge since January 1, 2013. While relinquishing his leadership post, he will remain on the Court.“I have enjoyed my time…

December 4, 2015
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John Everett Williams was the keynote speaker at the Missouri Bar Association’s Lawyers’ Assistance Program annual dinner last month in St. Louis.Judge Williams, chairperson of the Tennessee Lawyer’s Assistance Program (TLAP) and a strong advocate for the…

December 3, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has unanimously affirmed a six-month suspension of Nashville attorney Paul J. Walwyn’s law license for failure to act diligently in his representation of clients. In 2012, the Board of Professional Responsibility filed a petition for discipline against Mr. Walwyn…

December 2, 2015
In two opinions filed today, the Supreme Court has clarified the meaning and purpose of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, which sets out a procedure for challenging illegal sentences.Illegal sentences are those that are not authorized by law or that directly conflict with the law. The…

December 2, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has amended the provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct regarding judges and judicial candidates’ election campaign conduct.The recent changes stem from suggestions made by a joint committee of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and the Tennessee Trial Judges…

December 1, 2015
The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider eight applicants when it meets January 7, 2016 in Memphis to select nominees for the circuit court vacancy in the 30th Judicial District – Shelby County.The vacancy was created by the death of the Honorable D’Army Bailey in July of this…

November 30, 2015
Tennessee Attorney General senior counsel Rachel Harmon will join the Administrative Office of the Courts next month as general counsel for the judiciary.Ms. Harmon comes to the AOC after nine years with the state Attorney General’s office, where she served in the criminal appellate division and…

November 24, 2015
The Supreme Court’s pilot project to provide an avenue for complex business cases has continued to see great interest from litigants.The business litigation pilot project has already exceeded case filing expectations, which confirms that this specialized docket is needed in Tennessee. In the first…

November 23, 2015
M. Keith Siskin, presiding judge of the 16th Judicial District (Rutherford and Cannon Counties) has been nominated by the Director of the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts for the prestigious national Sandra Day O’Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education. The Sandra Day…

November 17, 2015
Judge Karen R. Williams, who retired last year from Shelby County Circuit Court, was honored earlier this month with a portrait unveiling at the courthouse.Approximately 150 state and federal judges, along with attorneys, friends, and family gathered in the south hall of the courthouse to celebrate…

November 12, 2015
From WCYB   GREENEVILLE, Tenn -About a thousand students from across the region got a rare glimpse of the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals proceedings in Greeneville. The Tennessee court heard four cases before the student body at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center.   …

November 12, 2015
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark was the keynote speaker at the Vision 2020’s Conference when the group met recently in Nashville for their Vision 2020 Fifth National CongressJustice Clark noted that she was “energized and uplifted by the goals of the organization and the…

November 12, 2015
The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for the Circuit Court judge vacancy in the 30th Judicial District – Shelby County. The vacancy was created by the death earlier this year of the Honorable D’Army Bailey.Any interested applicant must be a licensed…

November 10, 2015
A suit filed by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville against the local Board of Zoning Appeals can continue after a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling granting Nashville standing in the case.The dispute stems from a Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) decision in 2012 that overturned the zoning…

November 6, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted a revised Rule 46, which will help pave the way for electronic filing of cases in the state appellate courts.E-filing will allow parties to submit documents via a web-based system, instead of delivering papers manually to the clerk’s offices. E-filing is…

November 5, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that a Chattanooga hospital’s lawsuit against a TennCare managed care organization (MCO) involves a challenge to certain TennCare regulations, meaning the hospital must first give the Bureau of TennCare the opportunity to rule on its own regulations before the…

November 4, 2015
In deference to funeral arrangements for the late Sen. Fred Thompson, the Supreme Court-appointed Indigent Representation Task Force has pushed back the start time of their Friday meeting to noon.The Indigent Representation Task Force has been charged with reviewing practices regarding how…

October 30, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed a trial court ruling denying Bridgestone entities’ request to dismiss a case because of lost evidence and a request for summary judgment in the case in which a woman’s car was totaled in an accident after it appeared that a tire may have failed.The plaintiff…

October 29, 2015
Circuit Court Judge Philip E. Smith was honored by the Women’s Political Collaborative of Tennessee as one of four men to receive the 2015 Good Guys Award.  The Good Guys Award is awarded annually by the Women’s Political Collaborative to honor men in the community who have worked to engage…