Supreme Court Brings Oral Arguments to Boys and Girls State Programs

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hold oral arguments before hundreds of high school students next week as participants in the Girls and Boys State programs see Tennessee’s highest court in action.

The Court session is just one element of weeklong programs students participate in to learn through first-hand experience how our government works. Student delegates elect leaders, conduct legislative sessions, and have law enforcement presentations, assemblies, and recreational programs. In addition to learning about the judicial process and studying the cases they will observe, they also hear from a number of other elected officials in Tennessee.

Tennessee American Legion Boys State is held in Cookeville at Tennessee Technological University. On May 27, Boys State delegates will observe oral arguments for the following  cases:

State v. Thomas Lee Hutchison: In this appeal of a Knox County criminal case, Mr. Hutchison is challenging the admission of certain evidence at trial that led to his conviction for facilitation of first degree murder and facilitation of especially aggravated robbery, asserting the evidence was discovered during an unlawful search of his home. Mr. Hutchison also argues that a coroner should not have been permitted to testify about the results of an autopsy of the victim that was performed by another coroner.

Kighwaunda M. Yardley v. Hospital Housekeeping Systems, LLC: This case concerns workers’ compensation issues and comes before the Tennessee Supreme Court as a certified question of law from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. This occurs when there are questions of Tennessee law that are key in the federal case and there does not appear to be any state legal authority to guide the federal court. The Court will consider whether a prospective employer who refuses to hire a job applicant because that applicant filed a workers’ compensation claim against her previous employer can be held liable under the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law for failure to hire.

Lipscomb University in Nashville hosts American Legion Auxiliary Volunteer Girls State.  On Thursday, May 28, Girls State delegates will observe oral arguments on the following cases:

In re Carrington H., et al: A Maury County mother is appealing termination of her parental rights, asserting that the lower courts have applied the law inconsistently in parental termination cases. She is also asserting that her right to an attorney in a parental termination case guarantees “effective” assistance of counsel.

The Tennessean, et al. v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, et al.: Leading up to the trial concerning an alleged rape in a Vanderbilt dormitory, media outlets requested access to records the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department obtained while investigating the case. The police denied access, citing an ongoing investigation. The trial court reviewed the materials and determined that some of the records should be released. On appeal, the Court of Appeals determined that the records were exempt from disclosure due to the investigation and pending prosecution. The Court will consider several issues in determining whether the records should be released to the public.