News
December 16, 2014
Comprehensive changes to continuing education requirements for attorneys in Tennessee will go into effect January 1, 2015. In an order filed December 16, the Court overhauls Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21, making the most significant changes since the Rule was adopted in 1986.The amended Rule…
December 4, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 18 in Nashville in an appeal by the State opposing the requests of several death row inmates who are seeking the identity of individuals involved in the lethal injection process.The appeal arises from a challenge to the…
December 2, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that Tennessee Human Rights Act claims against local governmental entities are not governed by the Governmental Tort Liability Act (“GTLA”). The Court has also determined that Rights Act claims filed in chancery court include a statutory right to trial by…
December 1, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that the State will be allowed to introduce evidence of a child victim’s recorded video statement during the prosecution of the defendant for seven counts of rape.In 2010, the defendant, Barry McCoy, was indicted for seven counts of rape of a child. Prior to…
November 25, 2014
A study commissioned by the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice (ATJ) Commission and the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) with the support of the Tennessee Bar Association has found that more than 60 percent of vulnerable Tennesseans face a significant civil legal need.The goal of…
November 19, 2014
The Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization has awarded more than $100,000 in grants to support Access to Justice initiatives in the state.The grants will extend by one year each the pro bono coordinator position and the aLEGALz project.“Encouraging lawyers to give…
November 18, 2014
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam Monday appointed J. Russell Parkes of Columbia as Circuit Court Judge for the 22nd Judicial District.Parkes replaces Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr., who took a seat on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in September. The 22nd Judicial District includes Giles, Lawrence…
November 17, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a death row inmate’s conviction for first degree murder. However, it has ordered a new sentencing hearing because the lawyers representing the man at trial did not properly represent him.Jerry Ray Davidson was convicted of the 1995 murder of Virginia Jackson…
November 14, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has denied a new murder trial to Clarence Nesbit, who has been on death row since 1995. The Court was unanimous in its finding that Nesbit failed to prove the performance of his lawyer affected the outcome of his murder case.On May 20, 1993, Nesbit shot and killed 20-…
November 12, 2014
Third Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Mike Faulk died Tuesday night after battling cancer. He was 61 years old.According to his staff, he had been receiving hospice care at a family home in Brentwood and it was there that he died.Faulk was appointed judge on June 27, 2013 by Gov. Bill Haslam…
November 10, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has decided that a sex abuse suspect’s confession made during a conversation with the victim’s mother and recorded by police was admissible at trial.A nine-year-old child told her mother that Henry Floyd Sanders, her mother’s former live-in boyfriend, had sexually abused…
November 10, 2014
The Supreme Court has affirmed the convictions and sentence of a Nashville man who was accused of sexually abusing his two young daughters.In 2007, Fred Chad Clark II’s daughters, ages four and six at the time, told their mother that their father had been touching them inappropriately. The mother…
November 7, 2014
Release From Gov. Haslam's office:Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced he has issued Executive Order No. 41 establishing the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments, a group of 11 members that will recommend candidates to fill vacancies for Tennessee trial and appellate courts.This…
November 6, 2014
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Deanna Bell Johnson of Franklin as circuit court judge for the 21st Judicial District, filling the vacancy created when Judge Timothy Lee Easter was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The 21st Judicial District includes…
November 4, 2014
The state’s newest attorneys are appearing before the Tennessee Supreme Court this week – to be sworn in to the practice of law.
Candidates who were successful in the July bar examination are attending ceremonies this week in Knoxville, Nashville, Jackson, and Memphis to be formally admitted to…
November 3, 2014
Judge R. Price Harris, of Gallaway, presents a plaque to Judge John Lowe, of Millersville, to recognize his service as president of the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference. Judge Lowe served the conference as president for two years and Judge Harris will serve through 2016.The state’s municipal…
October 29, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously reinstated a jury verdict, finding that a former maintenance employee of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) suffered unlawful retaliation through the actions of his supervisor.Jim Ferguson, a Japanese-American, argued that shortly after he filed a…
October 27, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the convictions of Broderick Fayne for aggravated burglary and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The Court rejected Fayne’s argument that the trial court’s instructions to the jury were improper.In July 2011, Fayne and his…
October 24, 2014
Jeana Hendrix has been named assistant general counsel for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. In this role, she will be tracking proposed legislation, preparing fiscal notes, providing legal and procedural advice, and preparing judicial publications, reports and manuals as well as…
October 23, 2014
Members of the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission honored attorneys across the state this week in ceremonies recognizing the pro bono work of attorneys, law students, and law firms.Programs were held in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville to laud the 167 attorneys who have…