On March 24, 2026, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals heard oral arguments for its Knoxville docket at the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law. Judges Timothy L. Easter, J. Ross Dyer, and Tom Greenholtz, who is a UT Winston Law graduate, sat in for the court.
“The law students can actually see a real-life case being argued with real-life names, real-life people, real-life lawyers. We just think it gives flesh and bones to an otherwise stale opinion they might read,” said Judge Tim Easter. “For us, we get to see the future of the bar and these students and it’s a shot in the arm for us to do that.”
The event was coordinated by Tammy Rooney and Drake Watkins at Winston Law along with staff attorney Vanessa Johnson and administrative law clerk Addie Nester at the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Professor Danny Schaffzin, Director for the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, hosted a luncheon for the judges and students who participated in the school’s advocacy programs. At the conclusion of the session, students, the panel, and attorneys for the parties participated in a question-and-answer-session regarding appellate advocacy.
“There is no opportunity quite like this one in my experience both in law school and a practicing attorney,” said Professor Schaffzin. “Again, you interact with judges only in courthouses. That’s the way it is. To get to know judges, that personal interaction, learning not just about what the court does but how judges think, what their day to day is like, their education, their suggestions for training and what makes great advocacy and how lawyers need to be professionals. There’s no better way than to hear it from the judges they are going to appear before in their careers and it really is a second-to-one opportunity. “
The Administrative Office of the Courts livestreamed the cases at https:/www.youtube.com/@TNCourts. The cases include: State v. Price, State v. James, State v. Simmons, and State v. Lacey.
