News
December 6, 2018
In a case involving first-degree murder committed by a juvenile, the Tennessee Supreme Court has clarified that a defendant convicted of first-degree murder committed on or after July 1, 1995, and sentenced to life in prison becomes eligible for release after serving a minimum of 51 years in prison…
December 4, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Knox County Chancery Court that attorney Thomas F. Mabry has not proven that he lacked the capacity, by reason of mental illness, to respond to or defend against a disciplinary complaint filed against him.The Tennessee Supreme Court, as…
November 16, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued six execution dates for 2019 and 2020. The Court set an execution date of May 16, 2019, for Donnie Edward Johnson. Johnson was convicted in 1985 of killing his wife Connie Johnson in Shelby County. Johnson had a previous execution date set, which was…
November 8, 2018
Video recordings from oral arguments held before the Tennessee Supreme Court in October are available online. This is the first time oral arguments have been video recorded and made available to the public. “There has been too much mystique about the Supreme Court for too long,” Chief Justice…
November 5, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear two cases on November 7, 2018, in Jackson, Tennessee. The details of the cases are as follows: Wednesday, November 7, 2018Gerald Stanley Green v. Board of Professional Responsibility.–Gerald Stanley Green, a licensed Tennessee attorney, is…
October 22, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an Order today resetting the execution date for Edmund Zagorski to November 1, 2018. Read the Order
October 17, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has revised one of its rules to require new lawyers to successfully complete a course focused specifically on the law in Tennessee before they begin practicing law. This requirement comes in the wake of the Court’s adoption in April 2018 of the Uniform Bar Examination (“…
October 12, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court modified a defendant’s sentence after ruling that the State did not provide proper pre-trial notice that it intended to use his prior convictions to obtain an enhanced sentence. The defendant, Jimmy Williams, was convicted in Shelby County of aggravated assault for…
October 8, 2018
A majority of the Tennessee Supreme Court has held that death row inmates failed to establish that the current, three-drug lethal injection protocol violates prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment under the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution.In January 2018, the…
October 5, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has recently thrown open its courthouse doors wider. Starting on October 3, Supreme Court oral arguments taking place in Nashville will be videotaped and made available to the public.“There has been too much mystique about the Supreme Court for too long,” Chief…
October 3, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted significant revisions to its rules regulating court-approved mediators in the state. The revisions to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31, and the adoption of Rule 31A, are the first in-depth changes to the rules governing mediation and arbitration in Tennessee…
October 2, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral argument in cases on October 3 and 4, 2018, in Nashville. The Court also will hear oral argument regarding a proposed new rule on collaborative family law from the Tennessee Bar Association. The details of the cases and the proposed new rule…
September 26, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that a circuit court judge in Tennessee lacks jurisdiction to issue search warrants for property located outside the judge’s statutorily defined judicial district unless the judge has obtained expanded geographical jurisdiction by interchange, designation,…
September 20, 2018
The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services recently held its 41st annual conference devoted to expanding civil legal assistance throughout the state. The 2018 edition of Equal Justice University brought an enthusiastic crowd of legal professionals together to hear updates on efforts to increase…
September 18, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for two cases on September 19, 2018, in front of hundreds of high school students from seven local high schools when it brings court to Chattanooga State Community College in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as part of the Court’s SCALES program. …
September 4, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear two cases on September 6, 2018, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The details of the cases are as follows: Thursday, September 6, 2018Nathan E. Brooks v. Board of Professional Responsibility.–Nathan E. Brooks, a suspended Tennessee attorney, appeals from a…
August 23, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that a statute allowing the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to collect a fee when an individual is convicted of certain drug and alcohol offenses does not deprive defendants of the right to a fair and impartial trial under both the Tennessee and U.…
August 14, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the suspension of Memphis attorney Larry Edward Parrish from the practice of law for six months, with 30 days to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation.
Mr. Parrish’s suspension was based on derogatory statements he made regarding…
August 13, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an Order taking jurisdiction of the appeal in a lethal injection protocol challenge case, which was originally filed in the 20th judicial district by multiple death row inmates and appealed to the Court of Appeals.Read the Order.Read Justice Sharon G. Lee's…
August 13, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the 60-day suspension of Brentwood attorney Michael Gibbs Sheppard from the practice of law.
Mr. Sheppard’s suspension was based on his failure, over a four-year period, to maintain and monitor client funds in his law firm’s trust account. This resulted in…