Video recordings of oral arguments heard in Nashville before the Tennessee Supreme Court are available to view approximately 21 days after the oral argument. You may access the video by clicking on the case number listed below.
Cases were live-streamed to the TN Courts YouTube page.
April 3rd, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Christopher Oberton Curry, Jr. M2022-00899-SC-R11-CD
Christopher Oberton Curry was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony crime of violence, along with several other offenses. At trial, the State introduced a certified judgment of conviction for a July 2017 robbery, a Class C felony. The trial court determined that robbery was a crime of violence and instructed the jury to determine the defendant’s guilt as to “convicted felon in possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony crime of violence, that being robbery.” The jury convicted Mr. Curry on all counts. The trial court imposed a 10-year sentence for the firearm conviction, a Class B felony, and aligned the other sentences to be served concurrently. Mr. Curry appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, arguing the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for being a felon in possession of a handgun because the State failed to establish that his previous felony (robbery) was a crime of violence. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court, concluding robbery is a crime of violence even if not contained in the statutory list of violent crimes. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted Mr. Curry’s application for permission to appeal to consider (1) whether there was sufficient evidence to support Mr. Curry’s conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm, and (2) whether the trail court’s jury instructions properly defined the term “crime of violence.”
April 3rd, 2024
Leah Gilliam v. David Gerregano, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue et al.
M2022-00083-SC-R11-CV
In January 2011, Plaintiff Leah Gilliam applied for and obtained a vanity license plate bearing the registration characters “69PWNDU.” The Department of Revenue, which administers the State’s vanity license plate program, revoked the registration more than ten years later, determining the registration sequence could be read to signify sexual acts or sexual domination. Ms. Gilliam brought this action against the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue, challenging the revocation under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause, the Due Process Clause, and void-for-vagueness doctrine. The case was assigned to a three-judge panel, which unanimously dismissed Ms. Gilliam’s claims. The three-judge panel concluded Tennessee’s vanity plates are not protected by the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause because they constitute government speech. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the three-judge panel’s decision, concluding that the personalized character sequencing on vanity plates conveys an individualized message and the public overwhelmingly perceives vanity plates as conveying a personal, not governmental, message. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted the Commissioner’s application for permission to appeal to consider whether Tennessee vanity plates constitute government speech or personal speech under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.
April 3rd, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Andre Jujuan Lee Green. M2022-00899-SC-R11-CD
In February 2020, an officer completed a traffic stop on a vehicle for operating on high beams. Andre Jujuan Lee Green was a passenger in the vehicle. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer indicated that he could smell a strong fragrance. The officer conducted an open-air sniff of the vehicle using a service dog, which alerted on the vehicle. The officer searched a backpack found with Mr. Green in the vehicle and found below one ounce of marijuana, a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun, Ziploc bags, and a working scale. Mr. Green was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of a firearm with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained by law enforcement, arguing the canine sweep was not valid to provide probable cause to search because a canine cannot distinguish between the smell of legalized hemp and illegal marijuana. The trial court granted the motion to suppress and dismissed the charges against Mr. Green, but the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, concluding the smell of marijuana provides probable cause for a search. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted Mr. Green’s application to appeal to consider whether the scent of marijuana detected by a canine during a protective sweep can provide probable cause for a warrantless search where the canine cannot distinguish between the illegal marijuana or the legal hemp, which are indistinguishable by smell.
February 21st, 2024
Robert E. Lee Flade v. City of Shelbyville, Tennessee et al. M2022-00553-SC-R11-CV
Plaintiff-Appellee Robert E. Lee Flade filed this action against multiple defendants, including Defendants-Appellants Stephanie Isaacs and the Bedford County Listening Project (“BCLP”). Mr. Flade alleged that Ms. Isaacs, acting on behalf of BCLP, helped coordinate a public campaign to harass him regarding the condition of a rental house he owned. The complaint asserted that this conduct “amounted to libel per se, intentional interference with business, intentional infliction of emotional distress, stalking and harassment.” In response to the complaint, Ms. Isaacs and BCLP filed petitions to dismiss pursuant to the Tennessee Public Participation Act (“TPPA”). Before the petitions were heard, Mr. Flade filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. Defendants filed notices of intent to proceed with their petitions despite the dismissal. The trial court declined to adjudicate the TPPA petitions in light of the nonsuit, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted review to address whether a defendant’s TPPA petition survives a plaintiff’s nonsuit.
February 21st, 2024
Annie J. Jones, By and Through Her Conservatorship, Joyce Sons a/k/a Calisa Joyce Sons v. Life Care Centers of America d/b/a Life Care Center of Tullahoma M2022-00471-SC-R11-CV
Annie Jones was a resident of Life Care Center of Tullahoma. A Life Care employee was assisting Ms. Jones with taking a shower when the employee received a video call from her incarcerated boyfriend. When the employee answered the video call, Ms. Jones’s nude body was visible to the caller. Ms. Jones’s daughter, acting as Ms. Jones’s conservator, initiated this action against Life Care alleging that that “[a]s a direct and proximate result of the grossly negligent, willful, wanton, reckless, malicious and/or intentional misconduct of defendant, plaintiff’s privacy and dignity were violated.” While the action was pending, Ms. Jones died. Life Care moved for summary judgment, asserting a lack of injury and damages. The trial court granted Life Care’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the Plaintiff could not prove the existence of any cognizable injury or damages. Plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeals instructed the parties to file additional briefing addressing whether an action for invasion of privacy can be maintained after the death of the individual whose privacy was invaded. After each party filed briefs on the issue, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on the issue of injury and damages and further held that the claim for invasion of privacy based on intrusion upon seclusion survived the death of Ms. Jones. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted Life Care’s application for permission to appeal to address the issue of whether a claim for invasion of privacy for intrusion upon seclusion survives the death of the individual whose privacy was invaded.