News
June 10, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous decision clarified the appropriate legal standard to be applied in post-conviction cases involving allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel based on counsel’s alleged failure to seek suppression of evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds.Petitioner…
June 10, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that the Tennessee Republican Party and its State Executive Committee (“Republican Party”) did not violate the Tennessee Open Meetings Act (“TOMA”) when they determined that Mr. Robert Starbuck Newsom a/k/a Robby Starbuck (“Mr. Starbuck”) would not be added to…
June 6, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the thirty-day suspension of Davidson County attorney Candes Vonniest Prewitt from the practice of law in Tennessee.A Board of Professional Responsibility hearing panel found that Ms. Prewitt violated multiple provisions of the Tennessee Rules of…
June 2, 2022
Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle was honored with a resolution from the Tennessee Dental Association (TDA) House of Delegates, on May 22, which named her an honorary member of the Association.The TDA noted Chancellor Lyle’s work with the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability,…
June 1, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld sentences imposed by the Hardin County Circuit Court for drug offenses that occurred in a drug-free zone. Offenses committed in drug-free zones, most often around schools, provide for enhanced punishment above that for offenses committed in other…
May 31, 2022
The Board of Judicial Conduct has issued an Order of Suspension for Roane County General Sessions Judge Dennis W. Humphrey. Read the Order of Suspension here.
May 27, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is bound by a trial court’s order expunging criminal charges and must comply even if the TBI disagrees with the order.In 2015, the plaintiff, an unnamed citizen of McNairy County, Tennessee, negotiated a guilty…
May 26, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court has one case set for its June 1, 2022 docket. The case will be heard in Nashville, Tennessee, beginning at 11:15 a.m. and will be livestreamed to: https://www.youtube.com/user/TNCourts/featured. The details of…
May 19, 2022
Stacy Lynch joins the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts as its new Court Improvement Program (CIP) Director. Lynch comes to the AOC from the Juvenile Court of Rutherford County, where she was a partner in the law office of Hull, Ray, Rieder, Ewell, Lane & Lynch, PC in Tullahoma and…
May 18, 2022
In an opinion released today, the Tennessee Supreme Court determined that, while two Tennessee county governments had standing to challenge the Education Savings Account Pilot Program (the “ESA Act”), the Act is not rendered unconstitutional by the Home Rule Amendment, article XI, section 9, of the…
May 17, 2022
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark is the 2022 posthumous recipient of the Nashville Bar Foundation’s David Rutherford Award. The award was presented at the Foundation’s Annual Fellows Dinner on April 22.The David Rutherford Award is given to a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation…
May 11, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an Order advising that applications for the July 2022 Uniform Bar Exam will close before the May 20, 2022 deadline. There is no remaining seating capacity in the Knoxville and Memphis exam locations, but there are some remaining seats in the Nashville location…
May 10, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an Order today related to deadlines for the July 2022 bar exam, which has reached capacity in Knoxville and Memphis and is near capacity in Nashville.According to the Order, upon reaching capacity at the testing location in Nashville, applications for the July…
May 10, 2022
Retired Court of Appeals Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr., passed away on May 7, 2022 at the age of 86. Judge Susano served on the Court of Appeals for over 25 years, taking the bench in 1994 and retiring in April of 2020. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving appellate judge in the…
May 4, 2022
The Tennessee Alliance for Drug Endangered Children (TADEC) recently held a resolution reading at Legislative Plaza in observance of National Drug Endangered Children Awareness Day. At dusk, Tennessee landmarks lit up in red to bring awareness to the plight of drug endangered children across our…
Professor Jeffrey Usman Confirmed to Court of Appeals in Joint Session of Tennessee General Assembly
May 3, 2022
Professor Jeffrey Usman was confirmed to the Court of Appeals – Middle Section by a unanimous vote of the Tennessee House and Senate. He was appointed to the intermediate appellate court by Governor Bill Lee on March 28 after being recommended by the Governor’s Council for Judicial…
May 2, 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court has two cases set for its May 3, 2022 docket. The cases will be heard in Knoxville, beginning at 9 a.m., EDT. The cases will be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page at: https://www.youtube.com/TNCourts/…
April 29, 2022
Grundy County native HunterGirl advanced to the Top 10 of American Idol, Season 20, on Monday, April 25 with her rendition of Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5.” She also happens to be the niece of Grundy County General Sessions Judge William R. (Trey) Anderson, III.
“I didn’t know she was on American Idol…
April 29, 2022
The Tennessee General Assembly unanimously confirmed Judge Kyle Hixson to the Court of Criminal Appeals - Eastern Section. Judge Hixson was appointed to the intermediate appellate court by Governor Bill Lee on March 28, and he will take the appellate bench effective September 1, 2022, succeeding…
April 29, 2022
Judge Tom Greenholtz was unanimously confirmed to the Court of Criminal Appeals – Eastern Section by the Tennessee General Assembly. He was appointed to the intermediate appellate court by Governor Bill Lee on March 28 and will succeed Judge Norma McGee Ogle, who has announced her retirement…