Supreme Court of Tennessee
Administrative Office of the Courts
Internet: www.tncourts.gov
Elizabeth Sykes, Director
Tim Townsend, Deputy Director
For Information, contact Sue Allison, (615) 532-6047
A bronze bust of retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., who was a member of the judiciary for 37 years, will be unveiled at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 3 during a ceremony at the Supreme Court Building in Nashville.
The Supreme Court will convene for the unveiling ceremony, which will include remarks by Chief Justice William M. Barker and Justices Janice M. Holder, Cornelia A. Clark, Gary R. Wade and William C. Koch, Jr. Other speakers include Herschel P. Franks, presiding judge for the state Court of Appeals; Joseph M. Tipton, presiding judge for the state Court of Criminal Appeals; Nashville-Davidson County Mayor Karl Dean; and John Seigenthaler, publisher emeritus of The Tennessean. The ceremony will be followed by a reception.
The bust, by Philadelphia sculptor Zenos Frudakis, was made possible by donations from members of the legal community and others who wished to honor the long-time judge. It will remain in the historic Supreme Court Building, which also houses a bust of former Chief Justice Grafton Green, who served on the court from 1910 to 1947.
Birch began his judicial career in 1969 as a General Sessions Court judge in Davidson County. He previously had served as an assistant public defender and assistant district attorney in Nashville. In 1978 Birch became a Criminal Court judge, and in 1987, he was appointed to the state Court of Criminal Appeals. He was elected to the intermediate appellate court in 1988 and was reelected in 1990.
Gov. Ned McWherter appointed Birch to the five-member Supreme Court in 1993. He was elected the following year and reelected to an eight-year term in 1998. Birch became Tennessee’s first African-American chief justice when members of the court elected him to the position in 1996. He served as chief justice from May 1996 to July 1997.
In 2006, the year he retired, a new criminal justice building in Nashville was dedicated and named for him. During his tenure on the bench, Birch was recognized with a number of professional awards and honors, including the National Bar Association’s prestigious William H. Hastie Award in 1995. Other honors have included the Barbara Jordan Award, the highest honor given by the international Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity.
Birch earned his B.A. and law degrees from Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he was a member of Law Review. He is a former associate professor of Legal Medicine at Meharry Medical College and a former lecturer in law at Fisk University and Tennessee State University. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the Nashville School of Law and has served as University of Memphis School of Law distinguished jurist in residence.
Andy D. Bennett Appointed to Fill Position In middle Tennessee
Nashville – Governor Phil Bredesen today appointed Dickson County native Andy D. Bennett to fill a position on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Middle Section.
“Andy Bennett has developed extensive experience in his career with the Office of Attorney General, bringing both administrative experience coupled with trial and appellate court experience to this appointment,” said Bredesen. “I’m confident he will serve the Tennessee Court of Appeals with both honor and integrity.”
Bennett joined the Office of Attorney General in 1982 after receiving a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University Law School. He served as an Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General for Legislative Affairs and Associate Chief Deputy before being named Chief Deputy Attorney General in 1997. Bennett received the Marvin Award in 2004 from the National Association of Attorneys General for outstanding leadership, expertise, and achievement in advancing the goals of the organization and was named a Tennessee Bar Foundation Fellow in 2001.
“I am extremely honored to have been chosen by Governor Bredesen to serve the state as a member of the Tennessee Court of Appeals,” said Bennett. “I believe in public service, and that justice should be impartial. I look forward to bringing my experience and beliefs to this position and to have the opportunity to continue my career in public service.”
He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society since 1999 and currently serves as president of the organization. He is a member of the Tennessee Historical Society and the United Methodist Church. Bennett and his wife Sidney Forester Bennett reside in Hermitage and have one son, Adam, who is a student at Watkins College of Art and Design.
Bennett succeeds Justice William C. Koch, Jr., who Bredesen recently named to the Tennessee Supreme Court. He will stand for election in Aug. 2008 and then for election to a full eight-year term in Aug. 2014.
Future attorneys attending the Nashville School of Law will have an opportunity to hear oral arguments in three Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals cases without leaving campus.
A three-member panel of the Court of Criminal Appeals, with Judge Jerry Smith presiding, will sit at 6 p.m. Sept. 18 in an appellate courtroom at the law school. Judges David G. Hayes and Thomas T. Woodall also are on the panel. The 12-member intermediate appellate court normally sits in panels of three in Nashville, Jackson and Knoxville to hear post-conviction petitions and trial court appeals in felony and misdemeanor cases.
“The primary purpose of having an evening court session at the Nashville School of Law is to give the most students possible an opportunity to observe appellate court proceedings,” Smith said. “Not only will some of the law school students be in the courtroom, but others will watch the proceedings from their classrooms via closed circuit television.”
Smith said Woodall “should be congratulated for putting this program together.”
The cases students will hear involve appeals of criminal convictions for statutory rape, criminal exposure to HIV, sexual exploitation of a minor, arson, vandalism, attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary and theft.
The night law school was started in 1911 by four Vanderbilt law graduates. The school’s dean, Joe C. Loser, Jr., is a 1959 graduate and was a circuit court judge for two decades. In 2005, the former YMCA Night Law School moved to a new 33,000-square-foot facility.
Appellate court dockets are posted on the court system website at www.tncourts.gov.
Circuit Court Judge Don Ash of the 16th Judicial District, including Rutherford and Cannon counties, has been elected presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. The 15-member panel receives complaints against judges and imposes sanctions for violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct.
Ash succeeds Chancellor Steven Stafford of Dyersburg who has been a member of the Court of the Judiciary since 1999 and was presiding judge since 2004.
“I am both grateful and humbled by this opportunity given to me by the other members of the Court of the Judiciary,” Ash said. “Over the past 13 years, I have been so impressed with the quality of the men and women who serve our state as judges. With the other members of the Court, I am confident these high ethical standards will continue to be met.”
Ash, of Murfreesboro, has been a Circuit Court judge since 1994. He previously served as city judge in LaVergne and was in the private practice of law. His a past-president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference, which includes all of the state’s appellate, trial and senior judges, and has been a member of the Court of the Judiciary since his 2003 appointment by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
He was instrumental in drafting Tennessee’s Parenting Plan, which became state law in 2001. Ash also drafted successful legislation dealing with drug court treatment and was involved in the creation of the 16th Judicial District Drug Court.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1980 from Memphis State School of Law. In 2000, he became the first Tennessee judge to obtain a Masters Degree in Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada in Reno.
He is married to Rita Ash and has four children.
(08/21/2007)
Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Childers of Memphis has been appointed chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs (CoLAP), which provides help for legal professionals and law school students with addiction, mental health and other issues that affect their ability to practice law.
ABA President Bill Neucom tapped Childers to lead the commission. Childers has served on the commission or its advisory commission since 2000 and has chaired the Law School Assistance Committee. He also was chair of the Judicial Assistance Committee for CoLAP.
“Judge Childers has brought admirable determination and dedication to the project to develop a rule fostering conditional admission to practice law,” said Erica Moeser, president of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. “His vision and his commitment to consensus-building will serve the commission and the ABA as he assumes his new role. I look forward to working with Judge Childers in his new capacity.”
Childers said the ABA first formed a commission to assist attorneys with addiction and mental health problems in 1988. Since then, programs modeled on the ABA commission have been created in all 50 states.
He serves on and was an original member of the commission for the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP), created by the state Supreme Court in 1999. TLAP provides consultation, assessment, referral, intervention and other services for lawyers, judges, bar applicants and law students with issues such as substance abuse, stress, family problems, depression, gambling and eating disorders.
“Until 1988 when the ABA took the lead, lawyers with those types of problems were on their own,” Childers said. “Many of them failed personally, professionally and they failed their clients. Thousands of legal professionals nationwide are productive and responsible today because of help they have received from the commission and state programs, such as TLAP.”
CoLap priorities, established by the ABA include education concerning addiction, depression and mental health problems; maintaining a clearinghouse on lawyer assistance programs; and collecting state rules and court decisions on confidentiality and immunity.
(08/15/2007)
Defendants may be eligible for the death penalty in Tennessee if they have scored at least 70 on IQ tests before age 18, regardless of later lower scores, the Tennessee Supreme Court said in a case involving a man charged with beating a Bledsoe County store owner to death during a 2001 robbery.
In a unanimous decision written by Justice Cornelia A. Clark, the court affirmed a Court of Criminal Appeals decision saying Danny Strode is statutorily eligible for capital punishment if convicted of murdering Harvey J. Brown. Chief Justice William M. Barker and Justices Janice M. Holder and Gary R. Wade concurred in the decision overturning a trial court ruling that said Tennessee law prohibits the state from seeking the death penalty in Strode’s case.
“Because the proof in this case preponderates against the trial court’s finding that the defendant’s mental retardation manifested by his eighteenth birthday, we hold that the trial court erred in finding the defendant to be mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for the death penalty,” Clark wrote.
Strode, who was 20 years old at the time of the crime, scored 69 on an IQ test three years later. Before his 18th birthday, test scores ranged from 75 to 88.
“The proof in the record is that although the defendant had his I.Q. tested at least four times before reaching the age of eighteen, he never scored 70 or below on any of those occasions,” Clark wrote.
State law prohibits executing “any defendant with mental retardation at the time of committing first degree murder.” The statute’s definition of mental retardation includes, “The mental retardation must have been manifested during the developmental period, or by eighteen (18) years of age.”
The trial court concluded that “the developmental period” does not necessarily end at age 18 and, therefore, Strode was retarded, as defined by the law, when he committed the crime.
“In this case, we concede that the language of the statute is arguably ambiguous and susceptible of two interpretations,” Clark wrote for the Supreme Court. “On the one hand, the use of the connecting word ‘or’ suggests a disjunctive intent that the phrase ‘developmental period’ encompasses a time frame different from the phrase ‘by eighteen (18) years of age.’ This is the interpretation adopted by the trial court.”
But, she wrote, the General Assembly’s use of a comma before the word “or” also suggests that “by eighteen (18) years of age” defines the “developmental period.”
Clark said the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals relied on the statute’s legislative history, including tape recordings in which lawmakers discussed the legislation, to conclude the intent was that mental retardation must have been manifested before age 18.
“Based on an exhaustive review of the legislative history of the statute, this Court’s prior understanding of the terms and a survey of other jurisdictions, we conclude that the language ‘during the developmental period, or by the age of eighteen’ does not include the years past the age of eighteen,” Clark wrote.
The court sent the case back to the trial court “for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.” Strode faces charges of premeditated murder, felony murder and especially aggravated robbery.
NASHVILLE - Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed Kenneth F. Irvine Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., to serve as special criminal court judge for Knox County effective Monday, August 20. Irvine currently serves as an assistant district attorney for Knox County.
"The experience Ken Irvine brings to this position will allow matters before the criminal court to proceed during Judge Jenkins' temporary absence," said Bredesen. "I wish Judge Jenkins a speedy recovery from his illness and know that Ken will do an outstanding job and will enjoy the confidence of the lawyers who appear before him. I appreciate his willingness to serve the state in this capacity on a temporary basis."
Irvine has served as an assistant district attorney since 2006 and was an assistant public defender from 2004 to 2006. After graduating from the University of Tennessee School of Law in Knoxville, he clerked for former Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joseph B. Jones and practiced law in the private sector.
"It is an honor to have the confidence of Governor Bredesen in making this appointment, and I am happy to be able to help out by serving in this capacity on a short term basis," said Irvine.
Tennessee law provides a process for the appointment of a special temporary judge in the event sickness or disability prevents a state judge from carrying out his duties. TCA 17-2-116 (a)(1) states: "the governor shall appoint and commission a special judge who shall have the same qualifications as the regular judge to attend and hold such courts for and during the absence or disability of any such judges."
Nashville - Governor Phil Bredesen today appointed John T. Fowlkes Jr., of Memphis as Criminal Court Judge for the 30th Judicial District, Division VI, in Shelby County. Fowlkes, who currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) responsible for the overall management of day-to-day operations of Shelby County Government, fills the vacancy created by the recent retirement of Judge W. Fred Axley.
"The unique combination of administrative and legal experience that John Fowlkes brings to the bench will serve the criminal court in Shelby County extremely well," said Bredesen. "As a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the District Attorney General's Office, John developed a vast knowledge and respect for our judicial system. In his current position, he led the development of the Shelby County Ethics Code instituted by Mayor AC Wharton. He will bring to the bench the respect and confidence of all those who know him, and I want to thank him for his willingness to serve the state in this position."
Fowlkes has been CAO for Shelby County since 2002. He is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and Assistant District Attorney General for the 30th Judicial District in Memphis. He began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Shelby County. He is a graduate of the University of Denver School of Law.
"I look forward to the challenges before me as a member of the trial bench," said Fowlkes. "And while there are many such challenges to take on, I have a lot of ideas about how to approach them and am eager to step into this role. I appreciate Governor Bredesen's confidence in me, and am honored to have this opportunity to serve the State of Tennessee."
Fowlkes, 56, is a member of Cross of Calvary Lutheran Church and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Bar Association, Ben F. Jones Chapter. He is a former member of the board of the National Civil Rights Museum and is a current class member of Leadership Memphis. Fowlkes and his wife, Michelle Lee Fowlkes, have lived in Shelby County for almost 30 years. They have two sons and three grandchildren.
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker has been elected to a two-year term on the 14-member Board of Directors for the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) at the organization’s annual meeting in Michigan.
CCJ’s membership includes the highest judicial officers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands.
“The conference is of great importance to the judiciary because it provides a forum for chief justices to share ideas and information on improving the administration of justice,” said Barker, who also serves as chair of CCJ’s Problem-Solving Courts Committee. “It is a great honor to serve on its board and to have been elected by the men and women who, like me, have the privilege of serving as chief justices.”
The conference, founded in 1949, is governed by the Board of Directors. Through resolutions, committees and special task forces, CCJ has addressed such issues as federalism legislation, including mass torts, class actions, and the Trade legislation; violence against women; development of problem-solving courts, privacy and access to court records, self-represented litigation; the handling of child abuse and neglect cases; victims' rights; and DNA and competence of counsel.
Former Tennessee chief justices who have served on the board were A. B. Neil, 1950-52; Ross W. Dyer, 1971-73; William H.D. Fones, 1976-80; Lyle Reid, 1992-94; and E. Riley Anderson, 1999-2000.
(07/30/2007)
Court of Appeals Judge Charles Susano received a 2007 Spirit of the Americans With Disabilities Act award during a ceremony in Knoxville. Lillian Burch, executive director of the Knoxville Disability Resource Center, said Susano is "a good example of an individual who has continued working in the community, being a contributing member" in spite of his disability.
Burch described the judge as "an inspiration to other people." He was paralyzed from the chest down in a 1992 accident. Susano's wife, Carolyn, is pictured with him at the Knoxville ceremony.
Chancellor J. Steven Stafford of Dyersburg has been named Trial
Judge of the Year by members of the Tennessee Chapter of the American
Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
“ABOTA is an invitation-only
organization of plaintiff and defense lawyers which seeks to promote
professionalism, courtesy and the preservation of the Seventh Amendment
right to trial by jury,” President W. Gary
Blackburn of Nashville wrote in a letter to Stafford. “I have been
uniformly advised that you are a fine example of all of those qualities
and very deserving of this award.”
Stafford’s award will be
presented Aug. 17 during an ABOTA dinner at the Schermerhorn Symphony
Hall in Nashville. The organization also will present a lifetime achievement
award to retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice E. Riley Anderson.
“To
say I am honored by being selected Judge of the Year is not adequate,” Stafford
said. “Tennessee has so many outstanding judges in courts across
the state. All of them are judges of the year.”
Stafford has served
the 29th Judicial District, including Dyer and Lake counties, since
1993. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of
Tennessee at Martin and his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Cumberland
School of Law.
He is presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary
and was president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference in 2002-2003.
He serves as dean of the Tennessee Judicial Academy for newly elected
and appointed judges. Stafford is 2007-08 chairman elect of the
Board of Trustees for the Tennessee Bar Foundation and was a Foundation
Fellow in 1994.
He is married to Tempe Collins Stafford and has two daughters,
Lynlee and Sydnee.
(07/24/2007)
Improving conditions for thousands of Tennesseans who receive notices every year to render verdicts in civil and criminal trials and encouraging participation on juries are among the missions of a new committee created by the Tennessee Judicial Council.
The panel will review state laws dealing with jury service and recommend any changes that may be needed. Its creation was prompted by Rep. Rob Briley’s introduction of a bill this year to revise various provisions of state law with regard to jury service.
The committee’s first meeting is at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the conference room of the Administrative Office of the Courts. Members are Chairman Jeff Henry, Deborah R. Alexander-Davis, District Attorney General Dan Alsobrooks, Representative Briley, Sen. Dewayne Bunch, Judge Lee V. Coffee and Tom Hatcher.
“Jurors are the linchpins of our system,” said Justice Cornelia Clark, who served on the American Bar Association’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the American Jury, “They perform a difficult public service and deserve to be treated with respect. We need to ensure that their service is as convenient and stress-free as possible.”
Clark said a goal of the new Judicial Council committee is to promote appreciation of the jury system and improve the response rate to summonses.
While most potential jurors show up when they are called for service, some ignore their summonses and others try to get excused once they arrive at the courthouse. The excuses range from the serious to the absurd.
“I had a juror tell me he could not be sequestered because he had no one to feed his parrot while he was gone,” Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft of Memphis said. “I asked if he could bring his parrot with him, and he responded that his parrot was stressed out by crowds.”
On the flip side, most who are called for jury service are willing to serve, including Supreme Court Justice Janice Holder, who recently completed jury service. She was not seated on a jury, but had hoped she would have the “privilege” of serving.
“Unfortunately, I was not among those who were seated on juries,” she said. “As a former attorney, trial court judge and a member of the Supreme Court, I know the value of the jury system and how remarkably well it works. I wanted to be part of that process.”
Former Chief Justice E. Riley Anderson, now retired, trekked to the courthouse 21 times hoping to be a juror during 14 months as part of a jury pool. At the end of his service, the chief justice returned $294 he received from the county for coming to court, saying he – like Holder – considered it a privilege.
While the new committee will be looking at state laws concerning jury service, the Supreme Court already conducted a study and adopted rule changes to improve jury service. The changes, implemented in 2003, included allowing jurors to take notes and to submit questions for witnesses. They resulted from recommendations by the Tennessee Bar Association Jury Reform Commission.