News
May 21, 2007
American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate May 30 in the SCALES Program, an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students. SCALES is a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial…
May 23, 2007
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for Arthur T. Copeland, who was convicted of first degree murder for the 1998 shooting death of Andre Jackson in Maryville.A unanimous court concluded the trial court should have allowed the defense to present the testimony of an expert on the…
May 24, 2007
Sarah Appleby has accepted the position of education manager for the court services division of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). She will assume her new position June 19, 2007, succeeding Shannon Howell, who will attend the University of Tennessee College of Law. Appleby’s…
June 6, 2007
Andrea Ayers, AOC programs manager, was among 56 new attorneys sworn in June 5 by the Tennessee Supreme Court during a ceremony in Nashville. Ayers and the others who were sworn in took the Bar examination in February.
June 12, 2007
Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge William B. Cain (left) was presented with a Joint Resolution of the state House and Senate in honor of his public service. State Rep. Tom DuBois of Columbia read the resolution at a ceremony for Cain in recognition of his service and contributions to the judicial…
June 15, 2007
Governor Bredesen today appointed William C. Koch Jr. to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Koch, who has served as presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Middle Section, since 2003, fills the remaining vacancy created by the retirements of Justice E. Riley Anderson and Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.“…
June 25, 2007
Circuit Court Judge Dale Workman of Knoxville has been awarded a State Justice Institute (SJI) scholarship to attend a course on “Current Issues in the Law” Aug. 26-30 in Bar Harbor, ME.
The award will cover tuition, transportation and lodging. Workman and other participants will discuss timely…
June 26, 2007
NASHVILLE, June 26, 2007. Lance Bracy, former chief disciplinary counsel at the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, was awarded the Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award for Outstanding Judicial Service during the Tennessee Bar Association's annual convention in Nashville.Named for former…
June 26, 2007
Court of Criminal Appeals Judge D. Kelly Thomas of Maryville has been elected president of the 178-member Tennessee Judicial Conference (TJC), which includes all state appellate and trial court judges.Thomas succeeded Chancellor Jeffrey Stewart, of the 12th Judicial District, including Bledsoe,…
June 27, 2007
Governor Bredesen today appointed Michael H. Meares as Circuit Court Judge for Division II in the 5th Judicial District of Tennessee. Meares, who serves as a practicing attorney and partner at the law firm Dungan & Meares, fills the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge D. Kelly Thomas to…
July 24, 2007
Improving conditions for thousands of Tennesseans who receive notices every year to render verdicts in civil and criminal trials and encouraging participation on juries are among the missions of a new committee created by the Tennessee Judicial Council.
The panel will review state laws dealing with…
July 25, 2007
Chancellor J. Steven Stafford of Dyersburg has been named Trial Judge of the Year by members of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).“ABOTA is an invitation-only organization of plaintiff and defense lawyers which seeks to promote professionalism, courtesy and the…
July 30, 2007
Court of Appeals Judge Charles Susano received a 2007 Spirit of the Americans With Disabilities Act award during a ceremony in Knoxville. Lillian Burch, executive director of the Knoxville Disability Resource Center, said Susano is "a good example of an individual who has continued working in the…
August 8, 2007
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker has been elected to a two-year term on the 14-member Board of Directors for the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) at the organization’s annual meeting in Michigan.
CCJ’s membership includes the highest judicial officers from all 50 states,…
August 9, 2007
Nashville - Governor Phil Bredesen today appointed John T. Fowlkes Jr., of Memphis as Criminal Court Judge for the 30th Judicial District, Division VI, in Shelby County. Fowlkes, who currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) responsible for the overall management of day-to-day…
August 13, 2007
NASHVILLE - Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed Kenneth F. Irvine Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., to serve as special criminal court judge for Knox County effective Monday, August 20. Irvine currently serves as an assistant district attorney for Knox County."The experience Ken Irvine brings to this…
August 15, 2007
Defendants may be eligible for the death penalty in Tennessee if they have scored at least 70 on IQ tests before age 18, regardless of later lower scores, the Tennessee Supreme Court said in a case involving a man charged with beating a Bledsoe County store owner to death during a 2001 robbery.
In…
August 21, 2007
Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Childers of Memphis has been appointed chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs (CoLAP), which provides help for legal professionals and law school students with addiction, mental health and other issues that affect their…
August 23, 2007
Circuit Court Judge Don Ash of the 16th Judicial District, including Rutherford and Cannon counties, has been elected presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. The 15-member panel receives complaints against judges and imposes sanctions for violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct…
September 13, 2007
Future attorneys attending the Nashville School of Law will have an opportunity to hear oral arguments in three Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals cases without leaving campus.A three-member panel of the Court of Criminal Appeals, with Judge Jerry Smith presiding, will sit at 6 p.m. Sept. 18 in an…