News
November 7, 2014
Release From Gov. Haslam's office:Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced he has issued Executive Order No. 41 establishing the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments, a group of 11 members that will recommend candidates to fill vacancies for Tennessee trial and appellate courts.This…
November 4, 2014
The state’s newest attorneys are appearing before the Tennessee Supreme Court this week – to be sworn in to the practice of law.
Candidates who were successful in the July bar examination are attending ceremonies this week in Knoxville, Nashville, Jackson, and Memphis to be formally admitted to…
October 29, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously reinstated a jury verdict, finding that a former maintenance employee of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) suffered unlawful retaliation through the actions of his supervisor.Jim Ferguson, a Japanese-American, argued that shortly after he filed a…
October 27, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the convictions of Broderick Fayne for aggravated burglary and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The Court rejected Fayne’s argument that the trial court’s instructions to the jury were improper.In July 2011, Fayne and his…
September 30, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has unanimously affirmed a jury’s verdict convicting Jessie Dotson of six counts of first degree murder and imposing a death sentence for each of the six convictions. The Court also affirmed Dotson’s convictions of three counts of attempted first degree murder and three…
September 25, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for Henry Lee Jones, who was convicted of two counts of first degree murder in Shelby County and sentenced to death. Because the trial court committed prejudicial error by admitting evidence that Jones had committed a separate murder in Florida,…
September 25, 2014
Today, the Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously affirmed 21 of 24 convictions of a man who engaged in and filmed his unprotected sexual acts with a minor.Mr. Barry H. Hogg, who was HIV-positive and had AIDS, befriended a 13-year-old boy. A few months later, Mr. Hogg and the minor went to an…
September 22, 2014
Retired Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Lyle Reid now has a permanent presence in the Jackson Supreme Court building, as his portrait was unveiled in a ceremony Friday.Family, friends, and current and retired justices and judges attended the event that showcased the career of Chief Justice…
September 22, 2014
In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that a statute requiring lawsuits by inmates to be brought in the county where they were incarcerated does not apply to inmates housed in a privately operated correctional facility.Sandy Eugene Womack is serving sentences for armed…
September 18, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a portion of a contract in which a Tennessee woman agreed to act as a surrogate mother for an Italian couple who were unable to have children on their own.The Italian couple, referred to as the “intended parents,” contacted the surrogate through a surrogacy…
September 17, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for a West Tennessee man who was convicted of first degree murder and kidnapping, among other crimes.John T. Freeland, Jr. kidnapped at gunpoint a 61-year-old woman outside the Fred’s store in Henderson, southeast of Jackson, in 2009. Mr.…
September 17, 2014
Dignitaries from across the state gathered in Knoxville Wednesday to mark the formal investiture of Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee.Gov. Bill Haslam administered the oath of office to Chief Justice Lee, who was surrounded by her family in the Courtroom of the Tennessee Supreme…
September 16, 2014
Gov. Bill Haslam will administer the oath of office to Justice Holly Kirby, the newest member of the Tennessee Supreme Court, in an investiture ceremony in Memphis this Friday, September 19.
The event, starting at 10:15 a.m., will be held in the Historic Courtroom on the third floor of the…
September 15, 2014
Herbert H. Slatery, III will be the next Attorney General and Reporter of Tennessee, the Supreme Court announced this morning in Nashville.Slatery, of Nashville, has served as Gov. Bill Haslam’s chief counsel since 2011. Prior to that, he was an attorney at a Knoxville law firm for 30 years.“He is…
September 13, 2014
The members of the Tennessee Supreme Court plan to announce their choice for Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter at 11 a.m. Monday, September 15, 2014 in Nashville.The formal announcement comes after a week in which the Court held public hearings as well as public and personal interviews of…
September 12, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that a hotel guest cannot recover from the hotel’s owner for injuries sustained when a bench collapsed in a handicap-accessible shower because the hotel builder improperly installed the bench and the owner was not aware that the installation was defective.…
September 11, 2014
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee will be formally invested into the role of Chief Justice by Gov. Bill Haslam at a ceremony in Knoxville Wednesday, September 17.The investiture will take place at 1 p.m. EDT in the Historic Post Office Building, Tennessee Supreme Court, 505 Main Street…
September 10, 2014
The Tennessee Supreme Court has reinstated a trial court’s decision to designate a teenage boy’s mother as his primary residential parent.The boy and his teenage sister were living in Richmond, Virginia with their parents when the parents decided to separate in 2011. His mother anticipated moving…
September 8, 2014
Six applicants for the Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter position will be moving on to a second round of interviews before the Tennessee Supreme Court.The Court spent more than five hours Monday conducting a public hearing and interviews of the eight attorneys who applied for the job. The…
September 4, 2014
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee addressed hundreds of Knoxville-area attorneys at the annual Knoxville Bar Association Supreme Court Dinner Wednesday night.Chief Justice Lee spoke about the many changes in the judiciary on the heels of the August 7 election and also threw her…