News
July 9, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an Order requiring all persons entering a courthouse for the purpose of court-related business to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth. The face covering shall be worn at all…
July 6, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous decision has held that acquitted-act evidence, evidence of a prior act for which a defendant was acquitted in a previous trial, may be used against that defendant in a subsequent trial if it meets the requirements of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b). …
July 2, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order today canceling the July 28 -29, 2020 administration of the Uniform Bar Examination in Tennessee. Although stringent public health and safety protocols were planned for the administration of the July 2020 examination, the potential benefits of…
July 1, 2020
Buddy Stockwell has been appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court as the new executive director of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). Stockwell comes from south Louisiana where has been a volunteer and program monitor for the state’s Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse since 1993,…
June 29, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court today clarified that an appeal of an order of protection issued by a general sessions court must take place within 10 days, and the common law writ of error has been abolished.In the case before the Supreme Court, a general sessions court entered a one-year order of…
June 26, 2020
The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts recently awarded over $337,000 in grants from the Parent Education and Mediation Fund (PEMF) and the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) of Tennessee to not-for-profit community organizations across the state.In all, 19 organizations…
June 25, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued the following statement on its commitment to equal justice:The Latin phrase that adorns the seal of the judiciary for the State of Tennessee means, “Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.” In many instances over the past few months, it seemed the sky…
June 24, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued orders in the appeals of Earle J. Fisher et al. vs. Tre Hargett et al. and Benjamin Lay et al v. Mark Goins et al. These cases were first decided in the Chancery Court for Davidson County and involve absentee voting in the state.…
June 23, 2020
Approaching three decades on the bench this September, 26th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr., the incoming president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference, has just about seen it all. With both civil and criminal jurisdiction in his West Tennessee district, Judge Morgan has…
June 18, 2020
Outgoing Tennessee Judicial Conference President Judge Don Elledge has announced the results of the conference’s election of new officers, who will take their positions on June 19.Twenty-Sixth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr., will succeed Judge Elledge as president of the…
June 16, 2020
The latest edition of Tennessee Court Talk focuses on trends and issues facing self-represented litigants, or pro se litigants who head to court without an attorney. Across the country, approximately three in five people involved in civil cases are not represented by an attorney in court, which…
June 15, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld the transfer of a West Tennessee assistant principal to a teaching position at another school. The Court held that the plaintiff assistant principal, a tenured teacher, did not prove that the transfer violated Tennessee’s Teacher Tenure Act.Stephen Geller…
June 12, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that a city’s employee handbook did not give a firefighter who was discharged a right to stay in his job. The Court clarified that employees can claim rights based on employee handbooks only when the handbooks say specifically they are intended to be a…
June 12, 2020
The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that a plaintiff who alleged that a massage therapist sexually assaulted her during a massage did not have to present expert testimony to support her claim against the therapist’s employer for negligent training, supervision, and retention. Expert testimony was…
June 11, 2020
Over the past few weeks, courts across the state of Tennessee have been expanding in-person proceedings pursuant to a Supreme Court Order issued April 24. That Order asked for each of the state’s 31 judicial districts to submit a plan to the Supreme Court detailing the safeguards and procedures…
June 10, 2020
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins will be honored next week with the Tennessee Bar Association's prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award. Chief Justice Bivins was chosen for his decades of service to the legal profession in Tennessee, including his unwavering support of…
June 4, 2020
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals will livestream oral arguments for the first time on June 9 through the TNCourts.gov YouTube page. The intermediate appellate court will hold in-person proceedings on four cases in Nashville. Under the judicial emergency currently in effect, access to the…
June 2, 2020
The Tennessee Court of Appeals will livestream remote oral arguments on June 3 - 4 through the TNCourts.gov YouTube page. The intermediate appellate court began hearing cases using video conferencing in early May and posted audio from those oral arguments on the tncourts.gov website. This is the…
May 28, 2020
Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced the appointment of Judge Kristi M. Davis to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Grand Division to fill the Honorable Charles D. Susano Jr.’s vacancy.“Kristi Davis has an extensive background in civil cases as both an attorney and judge, and she will…
May 28, 2020
The final case of the day is now livestreaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEetcQxz_ws Brice Cook v. State of Tennessee–The defendant, Brice Cook, was tried and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and sentenced to life…