Nashville, Tenn. – On December 3, 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, as part of the Court’s SCALES program. SCALES, which stands for Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students, is an initiative launched by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1995 to educate students about Tennessee’s legal system and the functions of the judicial branch of government. The SCALES program provides students with the unique opportunity to hear oral arguments in actual Tennessee Supreme Court cases in a local community. SCALES has provided more than 40,000 students from more than 500 high schools the ability to witness the Tennessee Supreme Court in action.
“All members of the Court are looking forward to our SCALES docket at Bryan College in historic Dayton,” said Chief Justice Jeff Bivins. “For the students, the program is a real-world civics lesson. For the Justices, it gives us an opportunity to engage personally with students, educators, community leaders, and local lawyers and judges. The SCALES programs consistently are an enjoyable and rewarding experience for members of the Court and students alike. We are grateful to the Dayton community, the local educators, the local lawyers and judges, law enforcement, and the local volunteers who are facilitating this event.”
The proceedings will begin at 9:00 a.m. EST in Rudd Auditorium and will be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@TNCourts). Learn more about SCALES by clicking here.
The two cases before the Court are:
• State of Tennessee v. Anthony Cornelius Baylis – Anthony Baylis responded to an ad on a “paid for sex” website. Unbeknownst to Mr. Baylis, the ad was part of a sting operation conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (“TBI”), and Mr. Baylis was texting a TBI agent. Although the ad described the purported escort as an adult (and the TBI agent was an adult), text messages from the TBI indicated that the escort was sixteen years old. In addition, Mr. Baylis was in Knoxville, but the escort was in Sweetwater. Undeterred by any of these circumstances, Mr. Baylis arranged a time to meet the escort in Sweetwater. However, he also tried to convince the escort to come to Knoxville and let him “sponsor” her work. Mr. Baylis ultimately met the undercover TBI agent at a hotel in Sweetwater, gave her cash, and began taking off his pants. The TBI then arrested him. Mr. Baylis was charged with the offense of trafficking for a commercial sex act. The State argued at trial that Mr. Baylis attempted to recruit the undercover officer as a prostitute, and the jury convicted him as charged. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted Mr. Baylis’ application for permission to appeal to consider whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support his conviction, given that Tennessee law defines “commercial sex act” as requiring either conduct induced or obtained by coercion or deception, or conduct induced or obtained from a person under eighteen years of age.
• Danielle Lowe ex rel. Beau Christopher Lowe et al. v. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC – In this workers’ compensation case, the Court will consider the status of an employer and its obligation to ensure the safety of its premises. Beau Lowe was an employee of Cumberland Machine Company (“Cumberland”), an independent contractor that performed certain work at a Bridgestone tire plant. Cumberland had a dedicated workspace in the plant where it repaired the molds Bridgestone used to make tires. Mr. Lowe was killed when a piece of equipment he was repairing fell on him. Danielle Lowe, Mr. Lowe’s widow, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bridgestone, claiming that the equipment and work process were defective. Bridgestone asserted that it qualified as Mr. Lowe’s “statutory employer” under workers’ compensation law, which states that because such employers are financially liable for workers compensation benefits, they cannot be sued for negligence. Bridgestone moved for summary judgment to have the case decided without a trial. The trial court denied that motion but later granted summary judgment to Bridgestone on a different ground, ruling that Bridgestone owed no duty of care to Mr. Lowe. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that there were genuine issues of material fact that precluded summary judgment on either ground. The Tennessee Supreme Court will consider whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that there were disputed material facts as to whether Bridgestone qualified as Mr. Lowe’s statutory employer and whether Bridgestone owed Mr. Lowe a duty of care.
Media members planning to attend oral arguments should review Supreme Court Rule 30 and file any required requests with:
Samantha Fisher
Communications Director
Administrative Office of the Courts