(06/06/2005)
Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, who has served longer than any of the 183 active state court judges, is retiring after 35 years of judicial service, including a quarter century on the Tennessee Supreme Court and two terms as chief justice.
“This
morning I visited with and delivered to Governor Phil Bredesen a
letter advising him that I will retire as chief justice and as a
member of the Tennessee Supreme Court effective Sept. 2, 2005,” Drowota
said Monday. “I
will be forever grateful to the people of Tennessee for allowing
me the opportunity to serve in the state judiciary for 35 years. Serving
the people of Tennessee on the Supreme Court for the past 25 years
has been an extraordinarily rewarding experience.”
Drowota , 66, began his judicial career in 1970 when he was appointed by Gov. Buford Ellington to the Chancery Court of Davidson County . In 1974, Gov. Winfield Dunn appointed him to the state Court of Appeals where he remained until his first election to the state Supreme Court in 1980. Grafton Green, a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1910-1947, is the only justice who served longer than Drowota on the state’s highest court.
“I have had the opportunity to adjudicate important and interesting legal issues, and I have been fortunate to serve with 12 different justices—men and women of the highest intellect and integrity ,“ Drowota said. “It has been my privilege to work with and to learn from each one of them, and I sincerely appreciate my colleagues for electing me to serve twice as chief justice during my time on the court.
Drowota’s first term as chief justice in 1989-90 was a period of transition for the court, including the swearing in of Martha Craig “ Cissy” Daughtrey as the first woman Supreme Court justice in Tennessee history. She now serves on the federal 6 th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“As chief justice I have had the great honor and opportunity to work on a daily basis with extraordinary members of the bench, with a wonderful office and court staff, and with the bar,” the chief justice said. “These persons continue to amaze me with their vision and to inspire me with their dedication. As I end my second term as chief justice and retire from the Tennessee Supreme Court, I am proud to be able to say that the Tennessee judiciary - from general sessions court judges to supreme court justices—consists of hardworking, conscientious individuals who are committed to the rule of law and to affording to all Tennessee citizens equal justice under law.”
During his tenure as an appellate judge, Drowota has participated in more than 4,500 decisions and has authored at least 1,000 majority opinions and more than 100 dissenting and concurring opinions.
"To be sure, Chief Justice Drowota's opinions, both civil and criminal, have served to update Tennessee law and bring it in line with much of the rest of the country,” Staff Attorney Marshall Davidson and Law Clerk Lisa Rippy wrote in an article to be published in the Nashville Bar Journal and the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy.
“He has written in a direct and concise style with a common-sense focus on making the law clear to judges, lawyers, and the public. A Drowota opinion, forged from practical realities, tells busy readers what they need to know. Direct and to the point, the opinions speak with strength and clarity. They are promptly issued too, for Chief Justice Drowota is keenly aware that few things cause litigants and their lawyers more frustration, and the judiciary more criticism, than the failure of courts to decide cases on a reasonably prompt basis.”
Drowota earned his undergraduate and law degrees at Vanderbilt University , where he also was a member of the football team. He later served as a Naval officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-la and was commanding officer for a local reserve unit. He retired after 27 years of active and reserve military service.
The chief justice is active in civic affairs and has served on the boards of the YMCA, American Red Cross, the Nashville Rotary Club, Montgomery Bell Academy, the Cumberland Museum and Science Center, the Frist Foundation and the Bill Wilkerson Speech & Hearing Center.
Drowota has been married for 42 years to the former Claire Hooper. They have two children, Helen Drowota Close of Nashville and Dr. Frank R. Drowota of Murfreesboro . He is an elder of Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville , where he has attended since he was 5 years old. His father was the church’s founding minister and served the congregation for 30 years.
Gov. Phil Bredesen will appoint a successor to Drowota on the five-member Supreme Court. The state Judicial Selection Commission will accept applications, interview applicants and conduct a public hearing before recommending three names for the governor’s consideration.
(05/31/2005)
More than 100 print and broadcast reporters and editors from across Tennessee will gather in Nashville June 6 to attend a Law School for Journalists, co-sponsored by the Tennessee Supreme Court and the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.
“Legal issues and the judicial system are complex, yet reporters are expected to understand and explain them with little or no legal training,” Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, said. “The 109 journalists who have registered to attend this program will be better equipped to cover courts, legal issues and legal proceedings. And that, in turn, will benefit all Tennesseans."
Drowota and First Amendment Center founder and veteran journalist John Seigenthaler will present opening remarks at Monday’s program at the First Amendment Center. Seigenthaler is a former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and served 43 years as a reporter, editor, publisher and CEO of The Tennessean newspaper. He also was founding editorial director of USA today.
“We are extremely proud to welcome the Law School for Journalists to the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center,” Seigenthaler said. “There is no journalistic assignment more important than coverage of the administration of justice. This forum offers the news media a rare opportunity to interact with judges and lawyers and to enhance the relationship between journalists and the judiciary."
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, will deliver the keynote address. She is a former media lawyer and was named to the inaugural class of the National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame in 1996. Dalglish earned a juris doctor degree from Vanderbilt University Law School; a master of studies in law degree from Yale Law School; and a bachelor of arts in journalism from the University of North Dakota.
The Law School for Journalists will feature seminars and panels designed to provide information to journalists covering courts, the legal system and legal proceedings as their regular “beat” and those who may cover courts only occasionally. Journalists who have registered represent urban and rural newspapers, television stations, radio stations, the Associated Press and university journalism schools.
Faculty members, in addition to Drowota and Seigenthaler, are Justices Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., E. Riley Anderson, Janice M. Holder and William M. Barker; Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Cottrell; Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Robert Wedemeyer; Circuit Court Judge Barbara Haynes; Criminal Court Judge Mark Ward; General Sessions Judge Gale Robinson; Juvenile Court Judge Betty Adams Green; Administrative Director of the Courts Cornelia Clark; First Amendment Center Executive Director Gene Policinski; state Solicitor General Michael Moore; veteran journalist Kent Flanagan; Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government; attorneys Charles Grant, Robb Harvey and Douglas Pierce; and photo-journalist Micheal Redd.
Topics to be covered are an overview of local, state and federal court systems; the legal process in capital cases; appellate process; cameras in the courtroom; shield laws; and access to records.
The Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association is hosting a reception for faculty and journalists following the program. Underwriters for 600 copies of a Media Guide to Tennessee’s Legal System are the First Amendment Center, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, Society for Professional Journalists Middle Tennessee Chapter, The Tennessean, the Knoxville News-Sentinel and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. The books will be provided to law school participants and other Tennessee journalists.
(05/24/2005)
The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected Paul Dennis Reid’s appeal of his convictions and death sentences for the 1997 stabbing murders of two young women he had kidnapped from a Clarksville ice cream parlor.
In an opinion written by Justice E. Riley Anderson, the court affirmed Reid’s convictions for premeditated first degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and robbery and the two death sentences he received. Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, and Justices Janice M. Holder and William M. Barker concurred in the opinion. Reid also has been sentenced to death for five other murders in Davidson County committed in connection with the robberies of McDonald’s and Captain D’s restaurants.
Reid’s Clarksville victims, 21-year-old Angela Holmes and her co-worker, 16-year-old Michelle Mace, were forced from the Baskin-Robbins store where they worked and driven to Dunbar Cave State Natural Area in Montgomery County where they were murdered. Before kidnapping his victims, Reid stole $1,565 from the business, according to testimony at his trial.
“On the morning of April 24, 1997, the bodies of Angela Holmes and Michelle Mace were found …,” Anderson wrote. “… Both victims had suffered deep stab wounds to their necks, as well as stab wounds, cuts and abrasions to other parts of their bodies. Both had bled to death.”
Anderson wrote that the Supreme Court reviewed issues raised by Reid in his automatic direct appeal and agreed with the Court of Criminal Appeals that they were without merit or were harmless. The court also conducted legally mandated “comparative proportionality review” to determine whether the death sentences were “disproportionate to the punishment imposed on others convicted of the same crime”
“While no defendants or crimes are alike, a death sentence is disproportionate if a case is plainly lacking in circumstances consistent with those in cases where the death penalty has been imposed,” Anderson wrote. “… We conclude that the death sentence as applied to the defendant in this case was not excessive or disproportionate when compared to defendants in other cases.”
In his separate concurring/dissenting opinion, Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., agreed with the majority that Reid’s convictions should be upheld, but disagreed as to the sentence of death.
“I continue to adhere to my view that the comparative proportionality review protocol currently embraced by the majority is inadequate to shield defendants from the arbitrary and disproportionate imposition of the death penalty,” Birch wrote.
The court set an Oct. 5, 2005, execution date for Reid, who has state and
federal appeals remaining. The legal process in death penalty cases is
explained on the court system website at www.tsc.state.tn.us under “Information” and “Capital
Case Information.” The website also contains legal filings in Reid’s
cases.
American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate Wednesday, May 25, in the SCALES Program, an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students. SCALES is a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 625 students will attend a special Supreme Court session at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville as part of the week-long Boys State program, sponsored by The American Legion. The 11th grade boys, who are in the top one-third of their high school classes, will hear oral arguments in two actual Supreme Court cases.
Circuit Court Judge John Maddux of Cookeville is coordinating the SCALES Project at Boys State. More than 14,699 students from 331 schools across the state have taken part in SCALES since the Supreme Court initiated it in 1995.
"It is important for these young leaders to fully understand the judicial system and its role in our society,” Chief Justice Frank Drowota said. “SCALES provides them with an opportunity to see the system first-hand.”
Issues in the cases students will hear at Boys State include whether a convenience store is liable because a clerk sold gasoline to an obviously intoxicated driver who then collided with and injured the plaintiffs in the case. In the other case, the court will consider whether a bail bond company assumed liability for a defendant’s fines and costs by posting his bond and whether the company was relieved from its obligations once the defendant pled guilty and was sentenced.
Each SCALES participant will receive a handbook containing information about the state and federal court systems and the two cases. In addition, Maddux and other lawyers and judges will conduct educational sessions with the students.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has set a legal standard for “abandonment” of property for school purposes in a case involving an attempt by heirs to reclaim land conveyed - with conditions attached - to Davidson County schools nearly 100 years ago.
In 1908, George E. and Sarah Haley sold the one-acre parcel of land to the
school system for $1 with the conditions that it be used “for school
purposes” and “devoted exclusively to the cause of education.” The
deed said if the property were “abandoned” for the stated
purposes, ownership would revert to the family. Lillian E. Griffis and
other heirs of Mr. Haley contend that the Metro Nashville Board of Education
violated terms of the 1908 deed when it closed Union Hill Elementary School
in 2000.
In a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota,
III, the court vacated a Court of Appeals grant of summary
judgment favoring the heirs and sent the case back to Chancery
Court “to allow the parties the opportunity to litigate
the case in accord with the legal standard adopted herein.”
“In April 2001, heirs of the grantors brought suit against Metro,
claiming that the property had been abandoned for school purposes, thereby
triggering reversion to them,” Drowota wrote.
The heirs claimed that terms of the deed were violated when Union Hill Elementary
School was closed in 2000 because of declining enrollment. Since then, the
property has been used solely to store surplus food service equipment.
Davidson County Chancellor Carol L. McCoy concluded there had been no abandonment and granted summary judgment in favor of Metro. Summary judgment is granted without a trial and requires that the party requesting it is entitled to a favorable judgment as a matter of law. The Court of Appeals disagreed and concluded that terms of the deed would be satisfied “solely by classroom instruction.”
“We vacate the Court of Appeals holding that ‘school purposes’ and ‘the
cause of education’ require classroom instruction alone,” the
chief justice wrote. “We hold that these limitations permit any
use that directly benefits and enhances the process of learning and instruction
or that directly advances the objective of instructing, training and rearing” the
youth of Nashville.
In setting a legal standard for “abandonment” of
property conveyed strictly for a specific purpose, the Supreme
Court held that the common law definition of abandonment applies.
Under this standard, a court must look at all the circumstances
of each case to determine whether there is an intent to “abandon” use
according to the deed's requirements. The standard would not
apply when “abandon” is defined in the deed.
(05/11/2005)
Judges from Madisonville, Nashville and Memphis are being recognized with awards from the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), with more than 1,500 members nationwide representing all levels of the state and federal judiciary.
State Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Lee of Maryville, Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman of Nashville, Circuit Court Judge Donna Fields of Memphis and Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan, also of Memphis, will be presented with 2005 NAWJ Spotlight Awards at a June 14 reception in Knoxville. Superior Court Judge Sandra Thompson of Los Angeles, president of NAWJ, will present the awards.
Chancellor Carol McCoy of Nashville, a member of the NAWJ board, said the “outstanding credentials” of the four award recipients were among the factors the organization considered. For more than 25 years, NAWJ has advanced “equal justice and equal representation in the courtroom,” she said.
Lee, appointed in 2004 by Gov. Phil Bredesen, practiced law for 26 years and served as county attorney for Monroe County and city attorney for Madisonville and Vonore. The Madisonville resident is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Tennessee and American Trial Lawyers Associations and served as the Monroe County Bar Association’s president, secretary and vice president.
Before her 2003 Chancery Court appointment by the governor, Bonnyman served 14 years as clerk and master in the 20th Judicial District. She was in the private practice of law prior to entering public service. She is a co-founding member of the Middle Tennessee Lawyer’s Association for Women and served as the association’s first president. In 1995, she received the Women’s Equity at Vanderbilt Award for her pro bono work in private practice.
Fields, of Memphis, was appointed to the bench in 2004 after practicing law for nearly 28 years. She is a member of the Memphis Bar Association, Tennessee and American Bar Associations. She is a former vice president of the West Tennessee Division of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and served on its board of directors for more than 10 years. She is a “Fellow” of the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Associations, as well as the Memphis Bar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Memphis Bar Association.
Skahan, also appointed
in 2004, practiced law for 19 years. From 1987 to 1989, she worked
as an assistant district attorney in the Shelby County District Attorney
General’s Office and from 1986 to 1987 she was an assistant public
defender in the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office. She served
on the board of directors for the Tennessee Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers and is a member of the Association of Women Attorneys
and the Memphis Bar Association.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction and death sentence a Missouri man received for killing a Dyer County tow truck driver who had answered his murderer’s Sunday morning call for help.
Steven Ray Thacker was convicted of first degree murder for the Jan. 2, 2000, stabbing death of Ray Patterson. Thacker had called Patterson to tow his car after it broke down as he was driving from Missouri toward Dyersburg.
“The proof in this case showed that the defendant’s vehicle broke down and was towed to a service station by the victim,” Justice William M. Barker wrote. “The defendant then attempted to pay for the wrecker service with a stolen credit card. When the card was rejected, the defendant stabbed the victim because the defendant ‘knew (he) was wanted in other states.’”
Thacker stole money, a gun and credit cards from his victim before going to a local restaurant and eating a hamburger. He later checked into a Union City motel, where he was arrested.
Barker, writing for a majority of the court, said issues raised by Thacker in his automatic direct appeal “are without merit.” He was joined in the decision by Chief Justice Frank Drowota, III, and Justices E. Riley Anderson and Janice M. Holder.
Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., wrote a separate concurring/dissenting opinion in which he agreed with the majority that Thacker’s conviction should be upheld, but disagreed as to the sentence of death.
In his opinion, Birch said the protocol used for comparative proportionality review is “inadequate to shield defendants from the arbitrary and disproportionate imposition of the death penalty.” He cited previous cases in which he has dissented because of his concerns about the method used for the review.
“As previously discussed, I believe that the three basic problems
with the current proportionality analysis are that: (1) the proportionality
test is overbroad, (2) the pool of cases used for comparison is inadequate,
and (3) review is too subjective,” Birch wrote.
State law requires the court to conduct proportionality review
in capital cases to ensure that death sentences are applied
consistently. The court determines whether the sentence of
death is “disproportionate to the sentences imposed for
similar crimes and similar defendants.”
“We conclude that the defendant’s sentence of death in this case was not applied arbitrarily and was not excessive or disproportionate when compared to similar cases in which the same penalty was imposed,” Barker wrote. “We have upheld the death penalty in several similar cases where the defendant stole from the victims and committed murder to avoid arrest or prosecution.”
The court set a Sept. 8, 2005, execution date for Thacker, who has state and federal appeals remaining.
(05/01/2005)
Seventh Circuit Court Judge Randy Kennedy of the 20th Judicial District
(Davidson County) was awarded a State Justice Institute (SJI) scholarship
to attend a 10-day General Jurisdiction course at the National Judicial
College in Nevada.
The award covered tuition, transportation and lodging. Kennedy
and other judges from across the country shared ideas on courtroom
and case management, including those involving self-represented,
or pro se, litigants. Topics included in the General Jurisdiction
course included jury and non-jury trials, docket management,
judicial discretion and judicial ethics.
Kennedy formerly served as senior attorney at Kennedy and Brown, and was
appointed to the bench in 2003 and elected in 2004. He is a graduate of
Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville School of Law. Kennedy
is a native Nashvillian and was a veteran trial lawyer with 26 years of
courtroom experience.
The National Judicial College was founded in 1963 and averages
85 courses a year with more than 2,700 judges enrolling from
across the nation. It is located on the campus of the University
of Nevada, Reno, and includes technology-enhanced classrooms,
a 75,000-volume law library, state-of-the-art model courtroom,
modern seminar rooms, distance education facilities, computer
lab and offices of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for
Courts and Media. More information about the State Justice
Institute is available on the SJI web site (http://www.statejustice.org).
(04/21/2005)
Phil Bredesen announced that Memphis attorney Jerry Stokes will fill a vacancy in division six of the 30th Judicial District's Circuit Court, created by the retirement of George H. Brown, Jr. The 30th Judicial District Circuit Court covers Shelby County. "Jerry Stokes has more than 20 years experience working in private practice and is highly regarded in the Shelby County legal community," said Bredesen. "Through his years practicing law, Jerry has proven himself committed to the improvement of the legal system in Tennessee and has worked diligently to represent those who may not otherwise have had access to the courts system in Shelby County. I have great confidence that he will serve the citizens of the 30th Judicial District with fairness and integrity."
Stokes has been practicing law since 1981, working in private practice with Stokes, Wilson and Wright Law Firm. The firm handles mostly personal injury, debtors' bankruptcy, criminal defense and plaintiff cases. Stokes has also worked as a part-time assistant divorce referee for Shelby County since 1998, when he was appointed by then Mayor Jim Rout. He has also served more than 100 times as special judge in the General Sessions Criminal Court of Shelby County.
" Stokes, 49, holds a bachelor's degree in radio, television and filming from the University of Memphis and earned his doctor of jurisprudence degree from Southern University, Baton Rouge. He is a member of the National Bar Association's Ben F. Jones Chapter and the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association. In 2003-2004,
Stokes received the highest rating among divorce referees (8.9 out of 10) in a survey commissioned by the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association. From September of 2003 to February of 2005, Stokes served on the Speedy Trial Plan Committee Task Force at the request of Judge James Todd, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western Division of Tennessee. Stokes' appointment is effective immediately, and he will stand for election to a full 8-year term in 2006.
(04/15/2005)
Tennessee’s criminal sentencing laws do not violate the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a jury trial and were not affected by two United States Supreme Court rulings last year addressing the authority of judges to enhance sentences, the state Supreme Court said Friday in a 3-2 decision.
Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, writing for the majority, said enhanced sentences a judge imposed on Edwin Gomez and Jonathan S. Londono were not unconstitutional. The defendants are not entitled to relief based on United States v. Booker and Blakely v. Washington, Drowota wrote. Justices William M. Barker and Janice M. Holder concurred in the decision.
“… We conclude that Tennessee’s sentencing structure does not violate the Sixth Amendment,” Drowota wrote.
In a separate concurring/dissenting opinion, Justice E. Riley Anderson disagreed and said the Blakely decision invalidates the enhanced sentences Gomez and Londono received. Anderson was joined in his dissent by Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.
“In my view, the presumptive sentences set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated …established a fixed point for the defendants’ sentences such that the upward departure, based solely on findings made by the trial judge, was imposed in violation of Blakely and therefore violated the defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury,” Anderson wrote.
Because Justice Anderson further concluded that Blakely announced a new rule meriting retroactive application, he said he “would therefore vacate Gomez’s and Londono’s sentences and remand to the trial court for appropriate resentencing.”
A Davidson County jury convicted Gomez and Londono of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, facilitation of felony murder, facilitation of especially aggravated robbery, and facilitation of aggravated robbery. The pair was involved in a 1999 robbery that resulted in the death of a security guard.
Gomez and Londono received maximum sentences within the statutory range for each conviction. In imposing the sentences, Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn ordered they be served consecutively for an effective 49 year sentence, longer than they would have been without the enhancements determined by the judge. Gomez and Londono appealed and the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court.
In their Supreme Court appeal, the defendants claimed their sentences were
unconstitutional because the judge, not the jury, found the enhancement
factors used to impose maximum sentences. They claimed that under Blakely
their sentences should have been the “presumptive minimum” defined
by state law.
Noting the court’s duty “to indulge every presumption in favor
of the constitutionality of statutes,” the majority rejected the
defendants’ claim.
"In Booker all nine justices agreed that the Sixth Amendment is not implicated by a sentencing statute which permits judge fact-finding, but which does not mandate imposition of any increased sentence upon the judge's finding of a fact," Drowota wrote.
The majority explained that, unlike the statutes in Booker and Blakely, Tennessee’s sentencing statute does not mandate an increased sentence when a judge finds an enhancement factor. Even after a judge finds an enhancement factor, the judge retains discretion to select any sentence within the statutory range, including the presumptive minimum sentence. The Tennessee statute, Drowota wrote, “does not provide a system which requires or even allows judicial power to infringe upon the province of the jury.”
The chief justice wrote, “some defendants will choose to raise and pursue Sixth Amendment Blakely-type claims in the hope that the United States Supreme Court will ultimately disagree with our determination of this issue, and nothing in this decision precludes them from doing so.”
The majority said its decision is not a “comment upon the work or
recommendations” of a Task Force appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen
in response to the Blakely decision.
“Determining whether the recommendations of the Task Force should be adopted
in whole or in part is a matter for the Governor and the General Assembly,” Drowota
wrote.
The dissent noted the task force proposal would eliminate the statutory presumptive sentence, making the state sentencing act constitutional.
The court also reviewed and unanimously rejected a claim by Gomez and Londono that the testimony by a police detective concerning the statement of another defendant who was tried separately violated their Sixth Amendment right to confrontation.
(04/12/2005)
Calling jurors “full partners in court proceedings” and recognizing their “profound impact” on the state, the Tennessee Supreme Court has issued a proclamation designating May as Juror Appreciation Month.
“Jury trials have been part of Anglo-American law for centuries, having been guaranteed in England by the Magna Carta,” Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, said. “Some aspects of jury service have changed over the centuries. For example, racial and gender discrimination on juries has ended, and juries now reflect our diverse society, but the vital role of jurors in the justice system remains as important today as it has been for centuries. Like voting, jury service provides citizens with an opportunity for direct participation in our government.”
Tennessee’s Juror Appreciation Month begins May 1 on National Law Day, sponsored by the American Bar Association. The theme for this year’s ABA project is “The American Jury: We the People in Action.”
The right to trial by jury is guaranteed in by both the federal and state constitutions and was among the guarantees in the first Tennessee Constitution of 1796. In “A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court,” published in 2002 by the University of Tennessee Press, the authors wrote that throughout its history, the state Supreme Court “frequently sought to preserve the fairness of the jury system.”
The Supreme Court proclamation, signed by Drowota, says the jury system reinforces the belief that “everyday people can make the right decisions and that we are an open, democratic government . . .”
“I urge the judiciary, attorneys, Bar associations, citizens, schools, businesses and media of Tennessee to use this occasion to dedicate themselves to the preservation and strengthening of the jury system and to expressing appreciation for those Tennesseans who answer the call to jury service,” the court said in its proclamation.
(04/05/2005)
Davidson County Chancellor Claudia C. Bonnyman has been awarded a State Justice Institute (SJI) scholarship to attend a 10-day General Jurisdiction course at the National Judicial College in Nevada.
The award will cover tuition, transportation and lodging. Bonnyman and judges
from across the country will share ideas on courtroom and case management,
including those involving self-represented, or pro se, litigants. Topics
included in the General Jurisdiction course include jury and non-jury
trials, docket management, judicial discretion and judicial ethics.
Bonnyman, formerly clerk and master for the 20th Judicial District
Chancery Court, was appointed to the bench in September 2003.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University
of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from
Vanderbilt University School of Law, Nashville.
Federal law created SJI in 1984 to award grants to improve
the quality of justice in state courts. The institute has awarded
more than $100 million supporting more than 1,000 projects.
The National Judicial College was founded in 1963 and averages 85 courses a year with more than 2,700 judges enrolling from across the nation. It is located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, and includes technology-enhanced classrooms, a 75,000-volume law library, state-of-the-art model courtroom, modern seminar rooms, distance education facilities, computer lab and offices of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media.
Students from 17 public and private high schools in Giles, Lawrence, Maury and Wayne counties will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases as participants in a program created to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 550 students and their teachers will attend a special Supreme Court session April 15 at the Giles County Courthouse in Pulaski. Each of three groups of students will hear oral arguments in one actual case, followed by a question and answer session with the attorneys for both sides in the case.
Schools participating in SCALES - an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students – are Culleoka School, Giles County High School, Highland Christian Academy, Lawrence County High School, Richland School, Collinwood High School, Frank Hughes School, Hampshire Unit School, Mt. Pleasant High School, Santa Fe Unit School, Spring Hill High School, Wayne County High School, Columbia Central High School, Columbia Academy, Loretto High School, Summertown High School and Zion Christian Academy.
Participating students and teachers also will join the Supreme Court, local judges , attorneys and other guests for lunch and a brief program. The meal is being sponsored by Giles County banks.
Teachers whose classes are involved in the project attended a three-hour professional development session in February led by Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Frank Clement, Jr. The session included a review of cases to be argued at SCALES. The teachers also were provided with notebooks of materials to use in their classrooms, including suggested activities, and SCALES Project handbooks for each student.
"The Tennessee Supreme Court believes that knowledge and understanding of the judicial branch of government are essential to good citizenship,” Chief Justice Frank Drowota said. “The SCALES Project is designed to educate young participants about the system they will inherit. The interaction we have with the students renews our faith that our nation’s future is in good hands.”
Circuit Court Judge Robert Jones, who is coordinating the project in Giles County , other local judges and attorneys met with participating teachers at the professional development session to schedule classroom visits to review the cases and issues to be considered by the Supreme Court. After justices rule in the cases, copies of the court's opinions will be provided to the classes and posted on the court system website at www.tsc.state.tn.us.
"The SCALES Project is important because it creates a partnership between the judiciary, the Bar and schools to promote a better understanding of the judicial branch of government," the chief justice said. "We hope that teachers will use the materials to make judicial education a continuing part of their curriculum."
The cases students will hear in Pulaski are State v. Patrick D. Collins , In Re: C.K.G., C.A.G. an C.L.G – Cindy Culpepper v. Charles Kenneth Galiwango and State v. Vincent Jackson. In the Collins case, the court will consider whether an arresting officer’s incorrect statement that Collins’ driver’s license would be suspended for one year if he refused to take a breath alcohol test satisfied the warning requirement in the implied consent law. The period of suspension actually would be two years.
Collins was charged with second offense driving under the influence. He attempted to have the prosecution barred from presenting evidence of his refusal to take a breath alcohol test because of the officer’s misinformation. The trial court judge ruled that because of the error, the state could not seek criminal or civil sanctions under the implied consent law. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the trial court and Collins appealed that decision.
In the Culpepper- Galiwango case, the primary issue to be considered is whether a woman who gave birth to triplets is their mother under Tennessee law even though the children are not genetically related to her. Culpepper and Galiwango had dated for several years when they decided to have children. Because of Culpepper’s age, they decided to have a child by invitro fertilization using the services of a fertility clinic.
The couple entered into an agreement and Culpepper was implanted with two embryos created by using Caliwango’s sperm to fertilize eggs donated by another woman. Soon after the triplets were born, Galiwango moved out of the house he shared with Culpepper and began to withhold financial support. He sued for custody, arguing that Culpepper was not the mother of the triplets, who now are 4-years-old.
The Juvenile Court ruled that Culpepper is the mother and awarded her joint custody with Galiwango. The Court of Appeals agreed with the Juvenile Court decision and Galiwango appealed the decision.
The case is one of first impression in Tennessee since the court has not previously considered the question of whether a woman who bears children genetically unrelated to her is the mother of the children under Tennessee law.
The Jackson case involves a murder committed during a cocaine deal. Jackson met with his victim to purchase cocaine, but the two men argued over the purchase price. Jackson shot the cocaine dealer, but claimed his victim had assaulted and threatened to kill him.
He was convicted of premeditated first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Court of Criminal Appeals reduced the conviction to second degree murder and sent the case back to the trial court for sentencing. The state applied for and was granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Nearly 14,000 students from across Tennessee have participated in SCALES since the Supreme Court started the project in 1995.