News
May 4, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended a Rutherford County attorney, James Carl Cope, for an additional 25 months. Mr. Cope was temporarily suspended in October 2016, and he requested that his final suspension be retroactive to the date of his initial suspension. The Court rejected…
April 20, 2018
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins recently spoke at a conference devoted to exploring the issue of childhood poverty. The Summit on Children: The Science and Story of Poverty, was held at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, Tennessee. The Summit, presented by…
April 24, 2018
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark was recently honored with the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from Vanderbilt University Law School at the school’s Founders Circle Dinner.
The Distinguished Service Award “is given annually to the person or people who best represent the…
April 19, 2018
Self-represented litigants in eight Tennessee counties will soon be able to enjoy convenient access to valuable legal information and resources thanks to a series of grants provided by the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Administrative Office of the Courts. The grants will cover the expense of…
April 18, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) as the key testing component for bar admission for aspiring Tennessee attorneys. The UBE is a nationwide test that has been adopted in 31 jurisdictions and allows test takers to transfer scores between states, greatly improving the…
April 16, 2018
Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota III, whose decades-long career as a judge earned him the admiration and respect of innumerable Tennesseans both inside and outside the legal system, passed away Sunday, April 15, 2018, at the age of 79.Justice Drowota’s 25 years on the…
April 11, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court clarified when a new legal ruling issued after a criminal trial should be applied to a case retroactively and what standards an appellate court should apply to decide whether the new rule affords a defendant relief.These issues were presented in Christopher Minor’s…
April 10, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court held today that Metro Nashville must hold a special election to fill the Office of Mayor. The decision reversed a ruling of the Davidson County Chancery Court that upheld the action of the Davidson County Election Commission (“Commission”) in setting the election to…
April 6, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear one case on April 9, 2018, in Nashville, TN. The details of the case are as follows: Monday, April 9, 2018 Ludye N. Wallace v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee Et Al.–This case is before the Court upon the…
April 2, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear three cases on April 4, 2018, in Jackson, TN. The details of the cases are as follows: Board of Professional Responsibility v. Larry Edward Parrish - In this attorney-discipline matter, the Court will consider the parameters of constitutional…
March 23, 2018
On the late morning of March 15th, Tennesseans congregated on the grounds of The Hermitage to celebrate the birthday of one of the state’s greatest historical figures: President Andrew Jackson. The pinnacle of the celebration is a traditional wreath-laying ceremony. The hour-long ceremony takes…
March 15, 2018
Previously, on January 18, 2018, the Tennessee Supreme Court set an execution date of August, 9, 2018, for condemned inmate Billy Ray Irick. On February 5, 2018, the State filed motions seeking execution dates prior to June 1, 2018, for eight other condemned inmates. The Court has denied…
March 5, 2018
In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled the surviving spouse of a person killed in a vehicle accident could initiate a wrongful death action on the decedent’s behalf even though the surviving spouse’s negligence allegedly contributed to the decedent’s death.
In March 2012…
March 1, 2018
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee spoke to the 15th Judicial District Bar Association on appellate practice as well as updated the group on the Tennessee judiciary, including the Access to Justice programs, indigent representation task force report and campaign to increase payment…
February 26, 2018
The Tennessee Judicial Conference and the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference have adopted new minimum courtroom security standards to promote the security and safety of the members of the judiciary, court personnel, and the public. The standards were last updated in the 1990s.
In the…
February 16, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court disbarred two Nashville attorneys, Sean K. Hornbeck and Robin K. Barry, revoking their law licenses. The Court rejected both attorneys’ requests to make the disbarment retroactive in order to enable them to apply for reinstatement of their law licenses sooner.
In the…
February 6, 2018
The case David R. Smith v. The Tennessee National Guard, originally scheduled for oral argument on February 7, 2018, in Nashville, has been continued because of a last-minute motion. Oral argument has been rescheduled for April 4, 2018, in Jackson. The Order of Continuance is available here.
February 6, 2018
In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that a taxpayer must pay disputed municipal taxes under protest before suing for a refund.
The city of Morristown, based on a state statute, adopted an ordinance imposing an inspection fee on licensed alcoholic beverage retailers. The city…
February 5, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear four cases on February 7, 2018, in Nashville, TN. The details of the cases are as follows:
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
State of Tennessee v. Westley A. Albright - This case involves a defendant who entered a “no contest” plea to the charge of…
February 2, 2018
The Tennessee Supreme Court has amended the eligibility requirements for graduates of law schools in foreign jurisdictions who apply to take the Tennessee bar examination.Under the revisions to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, section 7.01, applicants who have graduated from a law school in a…