News
December 13, 2019
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will consider six applicants for the circuit court judge vacancy in the 15th judicial district, which covers Jackson, Macon, Smith, Trousdale, and Wilson counties on January 8, 2020 at 9 a.m. The public hearing will be held at the Wilson County Courthouse located…
December 13, 2019
Jury instructions often play a vital role in every criminal trial. The Tennessee Court Talk podcast recently sat down with three members of the Tennessee Judicial Conference Pattern Jury Instructions Criminal Committee to discuss how the pattern instructions are developed, how changes are…
December 12, 2019
The Tennessee Supreme Court has appointed three new members to serve on the Access to Justice Commission beginning on April 1, 2020. The three new members are Monty Burks, Ph.D., Amber D. Floyd, Esq., and Professor Joy Radice. “The Tennessee Supreme Court is honored these individuals…
December 10, 2019
Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee appointed Kyle Hixson to serve as a criminal court judge for the 6th Judicial District to fill the Honorable Bob McGee’s vacancy. The 6th Judicial District Criminal Court covers Knox County."Kyle is a dedicated public servant with an extensive background…
December 5, 2019
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that the fair report privilege does not apply to a nonpublic, one-on-one conversation between a newspaper reporter and a detective of a county sheriff’s department, who also served as the public information officer for the sheriff’s department.The decision…
December 4, 2019
The Tennessee Court Talk podcast recently hosted several of the state’s leading experts on the intersection between human trafficking and domestic violence. While many think of human trafficking in terms of victims being “taken” or “snatched” and sold, the reality is most victims are…
December 3, 2019
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will consider six applicants for the circuit court judge vacancy in the 15th judicial district, which covers Jackson, Macon, Smith, Trousdale, and Wilson counties. This vacancy was created by the retirement of the Honorable John D. Wootten, Jr.The applicants are:…
December 2, 2019
The Tennessee Supreme Court has appointed J. William “Bill” Coley to serve as the next Chair of its Access to Justice Commission. Coley joined the Commission in 2016 and has led the Commission’s Faith-Based Initiatives Committee over the past four years. Under his leadership, the Tennessee Faith…
November 27, 2019
Fourth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Duane Slone was in a jubilant mood. He had just been presented with one of the nation’s highest judicial honors by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts in the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.As he, his immediate family…
November 27, 2019
The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that the 2016 amendments to the theft grading statute are applicable when sentencing a defendant even where the offense occurred before the effective date of the amendments if sentencing occurred after the effective date.The Public Safety Act of 2016, which took…
November 22, 2019
Judge Kathryn Olita learned early on how adoption can change lives.
When she was just a few months old, her father, Lt. Kendall McKinnis, was killed while serving in the United States Air Force in Saudi Arabia. After this tragic loss, she and her mother, Anne, left Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma…
November 22, 2019
It was a packed house in the Division II courtroom of Nashville’s Justice A.A. Birch Building recently, as friends, family members, and former colleagues gathered for a portrait unveiling of retired Criminal Court Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.Judge Wyatt was the longest serving criminal court judge…
November 21, 2019
The Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed a Court of Criminal Appeals decision suppressing evidence seized pursuant to a probation search. The defendant, Angela Hamm, was sentenced to six years for manufacturing a controlled substance. The trial judge suspended her sentence and…
November 20, 2019
Following more than two years of field hearings, cross-disciplinary partnerships and in-depth study of best practices, national judicial leaders have established a comprehensive approach for judges to tackle the crisis of addiction. According to the final report of the National Judicial Opioid Task…
November 19, 2019
The opioid epidemic is an unprecedented public health crisis that affects millions of families nationwide each year, costing our nation over $1 trillion to date. Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate has been a national leader in identifying the…
November 19, 2019
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a circuit court judge in the 15th judicial district, which covers Jackson, Macon, Smith, Trousdale and Wilson Counties. This vacancy was created by the retirement of Honorable John D. Wootten, Jr.Qualified applicants must be licensed…
November 15, 2019
Over 500 local high school students will get the chance to witness the state’s highest court at work when the Tennessee Supreme Court hears oral arguments for two cases on November 19, 2019, in Kingsport, Tennessee, as part of the Court’s SCALES program. SCALES stands for the Supreme Court…
November 14, 2019
Tennessee is proud to be home to a great number of military veterans whose past service will forever be an honor to both their state and country. These veterans hail from every corner of the state and occupy all kinds of different positions in civilian life. Today, some of them go by Judge.
In…
November 13, 2019
In an opinion released today, the Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the felony theft conviction of the defendant, Denton Jones. Over a period of 15 days, Mr. Jones stole several fitness trackers from two Target stores in Knoxville on five visits to the stores. In the indictment, the state…
November 11, 2019
The Tennessee legal community is mourning the loss of Coffee County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Timothy R. Brock, who passed away unexpectedly on Monday, November 11, 2019 while attending a national judicial training in Nevada. He was 62.Judge Brock was first elected as a…