News
May 17, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker will deliver The Webb School commencement address at 1:30 p.m. May 26 at the historic campus in Bell Buckle.“My brother attended Webb School and I have many fond memories of visiting him while he was a student there,” the chief justice said. “…
May 24, 2006
A University of Tennessee College of Law scholarship in memory of long-time Knoxville attorney Robert W. Ritchie, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, has been established by the Tennessee Judicial Conference Foundation. Ritchie died April 28 after a battle…
June 2, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence Cocke County jurors imposed on a truck driver for his role in the contract killing of his wife who was shot at close range after being lured to a remote area.Jonathan Wesley Stephenson was first sentenced to death in 1990 for the first…
May 30, 2006
American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate Wednesday, May 31, 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…
June 6, 2006
Governor Bredesen appointed Gary R. Wade to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Wade, who has served as presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals since 1998, fills one of two vacancies created by the retirements of Justice E. Riley Anderson and Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.“Gary Wade is a highly…
June 16, 2006
A new state-of-the-art $49 million criminal justice building will be dedicated at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, in honor of Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., who is retiring Aug. 31 after 37 years of judicial service at every level of the court system.Birch BuildingThe A.A. Birch…
June 21, 2006
Award named for Drowota to be given each year to a Tennessee judgeFormer Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota was awarded the naugural Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award for Outstanding Judicial Service during the Tennessee Bar Association’s annual convention in Memphis last week.…
July 11, 2006
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole has been awarded a State Justice Institute (SJI) scholarship to attend a General Jurisdiction course July 9-20 at the National Judicial College in Reno, NV.The award covers tuition, transportation and lodging. Poole and judges from across the country…
July 14, 2006
Voters will be allowed to decide in November whether they want a constitutional ban on gay marriage in Tennessee, the state Supreme Court said in a unanimous decision filed Friday.Had a legal challenge been successful, a public vote on the proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution would have…
August 14, 2006
Randy Camp, administrative director of the state court system, announced Monday he is leaving the position because of personal matters requiring his time and attention in West Tennessee.“For the past several months I have been dealing with personal matters involving my family in West Tennessee,”…
August 25, 2006
Incumbent and newly-elected Knox County judges and chancellors are among judicial officials being sworn in during a ceremony at 4 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Supreme Court Building, 505 Main St., Knoxville. Knoxville Bar Association President Steve Collins will preside over the 6th Judicial District event.…
August 29, 2006
Just days after retiring from a long legal and judicial career, Justice E. Riley Anderson will don his robe and sit with the Tennessee Supreme Court in Knoxville to hear 11 cases, including arguments concerning the validity of the Knox County Charter.“Because we have only four members of the court…
September 12, 2006
The 12-member Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has elected Judge Joseph M. Tipton of Knoxville as its presiding judge.As presiding judge, Tipton will be responsible for setting court dockets, including determining who will serve on the court’s three-member panels, where they will sit and when.…
September 12, 2006
The day, which is meant to bring attention to non-adversarial options for conflict resolution, corresponds to International Conflict Resolution Day, which is observed each year on the third Thursday in October.To celebrate Mediation Day and focus public attention on the benefits of dispute…
September 14, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade will be sworn in by Gov. Phil Bredesen during a formal investiture ceremony at 2 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Sevier County Courthouse. The public is invited.
“I am deeply honored that the governor is traveling to my home town to take part in an event that is so…
October 18, 2006
Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes, former deputy director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), has been named administrative director of the state court system effective immediately, Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker announced Wednesday.
“This was not a difficult decision for the…
October 30, 2006
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., legal counsel to Gov. Phil Bredesen, was appointed Tuesday by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve an eight-year term as state attorney general and reporter. Chief Justice William M. Barker will administer the oath of office to Cooper at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Old Supreme…
November 9, 2006
Students from 19 public and private Shelby County high schools will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases Nov. 14 as participants in a program that educates young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The 400 students and their teachers will attend a special Supreme Court…
November 13, 2006
Four siblings are among 20 children who will leave the courtroom of Shelby County Chancellor Arnold Goldin on Saturday, Nov. 18, with new families, new last names and new teddy bears to help them celebrate the positive changes in their young lives.As part of National Adoption Day, Goldin will open…
November 14, 2006
For Chancellor Thomas (Skip) Frierson, Nov. 18, National Adoption Day, will be special for two reasons - personally, because he and his wife Jane have three adopted children, and professionally as he helps create permanency in the lives of seven young Tennesseans.Frierson, of Morristown, will open…