News
October 17, 2005
Circuit Court Judge Karen Williams of the 30 th Judicial District, Shelby County, has completed the Managing Challenging Family Law Cases: A Practical Approach course at The National Judicial College.“Although divorce cases are only a small fraction of the entire caseload, a highly contested…
November 7, 2005
Tennessee Supreme Court Justices E. Riley Anderson and Cornelia Clark and Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Cottrell attended an invitation-only National Conference on Appellate Justice in Washington, DC.The meeting, Nov. 4-6, focused on what changes may be necessary to accommodate a steady rise in…
November 10, 2005
Students from six Sullivan County high schools will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases as participants in a program created to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The 330 students and their teachers will attend a special Supreme Court session Nov. 16 at…
November 16, 2005
Criminal Court Judge Stephen (Steve) M. Bevil of Chattanooga passed away this morning after an extended battle with cancer. He was 60 years old and had served Division III of the 11th Judicial District since 1990."Judge Bevil has been a respected and beloved member of the Tennessee Judicial…
November 16, 2005
When they leave the courtroom of Chancellor Arnold Goldin on Saturday, Nov. 19, about 20 children clutching Teddy bears will have new last names, new families, permanent loving homes and a sense of security many have not felt in their short lives.As part of National Adoption Day, Goldin will open…
November 16, 2005
Teddy bears, balloons and smiling children are not the norm in courtrooms, but they will be for one Saturday morning in Hamblen County.In honor of National Adoption Day, Chancellor Thomas (Skip) Frierson will hold court at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in the Hamblen County Courthouse to finalize the…
December 15, 2005
Randy Camp, who has served three years as state personnel commissioner, will become administrative director of the Tennessee court system effective Jan. 1, Chief Justice William M. Barker announced Thursday.“The Supreme Court is pleased that Commissioner Camp has agreed to accept the position,”…
December 15, 2005
The 7,000 daily visitors to the Tennessee court system website will have an easier time remembering how to get there. The old address - www.tsc.state.tn.us - will continue to work, but a new simpler address - www.tncourts.gov - has been added.The court system website was first introduced in 1995,…
December 29, 2005
A new state law, effective Jan. 1, could generate millions of dollars to bolster courthouse security in 94 counties without costing taxpayers a penny. Knox County opted out of the bill, which was enacted by the General Assembly during the 2005 legislative session.The statute also simplifies the…
January 6, 2006
Criminal Court Judges Mark Ward and Chris Craft of Shelby County, the 30th Judicial District, have been honored by the Criminal Law Section of the Memphis Bar Association. Ward was voted Judge of the Year while Craft has been chosen to receive the section’s Outstanding Service Award.“Judge Ward is…
January 12, 2005
Future attorneys attending the Nashville School of Law will have an opportunity to hear oral arguments in a dozen Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals cases without leaving their Nashville campus.The cases involve crimes ranging from a speeding ticket a citizen received for his high speed pursuit of…
January 24, 2006
The Tennessee Court of the Judiciary has suspended Roane County General Sessions Court Judge Thomas A. Austin, who was arrested Monday on federal extortion and money laundering charges.“This court has determined an interim suspension is appropriate,” the Court of the Judiciary said in an order…
January 25, 2006
Governor Phil Bredesen today named two appointments to the criminal courts of the 10th and 11th Judicial Districts. Amy Reedy, an assistant public defender in Cleveland, will fill a criminal court position in the 10th Judicial District, serving Polk, Monroe, McMinn and Bradley Counties. Chattanooga…
January 25, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice E. Riley Anderson will retire Aug. 31, ending a judicial career that included four terms as chief justice and writing or participating in more than 3000 appellate court decisions.“It is with mixed feelings that I advise you that I will not be a candidate for re-…
January 26, 2006
Former Chief Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., will end a 43-year judicial career, including 19 years of appellate court service, with his August 31 retirement from the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Birch, described by Gov. Phil Bredesen as “a trailblazer in the legal profession,” is the only Tennessee…
February 15, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has filed an order that could lead to a substantial reduction in the amount of paper handled by the state’s three offices of the appellate court clerk and also improve access to court records by making more of them available online.But, before electronic filing – or e-…
February 17, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and death sentence William Glenn Rogers received for the 1996 rape and murder of 9-year-old Jacqueline Beard, who was abducted as she picked blackberries near her Clarksville home.“We have reviewed all of the issues raised by Rogers and…
February 21, 2006
The Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission will hold two separate meetings to fill vacancies on the state Supreme Court being created by the Aug. 31 retirements of Justices E. Riley Anderson of Knoxville and Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., of Nashville, commission chairman Mike Bottoms said Monday.“I…
February 22, 2006
The death sentence Memphis jurors imposed on a man who raped and murdered his 13-year-old stepdaughter after luring her into a wooded area has been upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court.Charles Rice was sentenced to death for the June 18, 2000, stabbing murder of Emily Branch. The girl, whose body…
February 28, 2006
In a decision affirming the death sentence a Memphis man received for killing his girlfriend, the Tennessee Supreme Court has held for the first time that jurors’ identities may be withheld if their safety could be jeopardized by disclosing their names to criminal defendants.
Writing for a 4-1…