News
November 8, 2016
The Lawyers' Association for Women gathered today at The Music Center in Nashville to welcome new admittees to the Tennessee Bar. Judge Sheila D. Calloway of Davidson County Juvenile Court gave the inspirational keynote address encouraging them to become engaged in Access to Justice activities. To…
November 8, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court admitted new attorneys to the bar at a ceremony held Tuesday, November 8 in Nashville at War Memorial Auditorium. For a list of the successful applicants to the Tennessee bar, visit the Board of Law Examiners’ site.
November 7, 2016
Based upon the current language of the applicable statute, the Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed and dismissed the convictions of a Knoxville-area man for especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in a case in which he secretly videotaped his 12-year-old daughter in various states of…
November 3, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court has recognized a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule, which means that evidence obtained in violation of a suspect’s constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures need not be excluded from a criminal trial if the law enforcement…
November 1, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in four cases when it meets this week in Jackson.The details of the cases:State of Tennessee v. James Hawkins – This is a Supreme Court review of a death penalty case in which James Hawkins was sentenced to death in Shelby County for premeditated…
October 31, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted a set of plain-language forms and instructions for use in uncontested divorces between parties with minor children in an effort to simplify divorce proceedings for parties that fall into that category.The forms are approved by the Court as universally…
October 29, 2016
On Tuesday, October 25, the Tennessee Supreme Court hosted an event at the Belmont College of Law to recognize attorneys in front of their families and colleagues who performed over 50 hours of pro bono service in the previous calendar year. Over 40 attorneys from the Nashville area were…
October 29, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court will be traveling across the state over the next 10 days to swear in some of Tennessee’s newest attorneys.
More than 450 people passed the July 2016 bar exam and hundreds of them choose to be sworn in to the practice of law by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The schedule…
October 24, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that a car rented from a national self-insured car rental agency qualifies as an “uninsured motor vehicle” for purposes of an insurance claim filed by a Williamson County man.This case involves a lawsuit file by Edward Martin after he was struck by a…
October 21, 2016
Today, the Tennessee Supreme Court celebrates the resounding success of the Business Court Docket Pilot Project operated as a part of the Davidson County Chancery Court. Since its inception last year, the Pilot Project has surpassed a total of 100 requests for transfer to the Business Court…
October 20, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission’s recently released annual report shows Tennessee attorneys are donating more than 500,000 hours of their time annually worth more than $100 million.For the calendar year 2014, nearly half of all attorneys reported doing some kind of pro…
October 14, 2016
In two unanimous opinions released today, the Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that an indictment that includes a charge for employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony does not have to specifically state which underlying felony is tied to the firearms charge when it…
October 12, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that the state legislature did not remove an existing practice in Tennessee courts established by prior Tennessee case law when it enacted a statute that outlines methods for determining various lesser-included offenses for which a defendant can be…
October 6, 2016
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins was sworn in by Gov. Bill Haslam at a ceremonial investiture in the historic Supreme Court chambers Thursday afternoon.
More than 80 people were in attendance as Gov. Haslam praised Chief Justice Bivins’s work and the quality of the judiciary as a…
October 3, 2016
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear six cases October 5 and 6 in Nashville, including a case concerning the constitutionality of Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol.Stephen West, et al. v. Derrick Schofield, et al.– In this case concerning the constitutionality of Tennessee’s lethal injection…
September 30, 2016
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins will have a ceremonial swearing in with Gov. Bill Haslam at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, October 6, 2016 in the historic Supreme Court chambers within the Capitol. The event is open to the public.Chief Justice Bivins was unanimously elected chief by the…
September 29, 2016
In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court has modified the state’s approach to collateral estoppel – a legal principle governing the relationships and issues between parties that are involved in successive legal proceedings. The decision will prevent a person who has been convicted of a…
September 29, 2016
The Indigent Representation Task Force will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, September 30 in Legislative Plaza.The Task Force will hear presentations from:Vince Dean, Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk and designee for the president of the Tennessee Clerks of Court ConferenceGeneral Jerry N. Estes,…
September 1, 2016
Several new judges were sworn in, with many new terms starting September 1.Tennessee's newest trial court judges, who took office September 1, are:Judge Ted Crozier, 19th Judicial District Chancellor JoDae L. Jenkins, 30th Judicial District Chancellor Bill Young, 20th Judicial DistrictSeveral…
September 9, 2016
All five Tennessee justices were honored at the annual Knoxville Bar Association Supreme Court Dinner.The Court recognized 54 attorneys from the Knoxville area on the Attorney for Justice Pro Bono Honor Roll as well as 70 law students from University of Tennessee College of Law and Lincoln Memorial…