News
October 17, 2005
The combination of drugs and method of administering them to condemned prisoners is constitutional, the Tennessee Supreme Court said in a decision striking down challenges to the state’s lethal injection protocol raised by death row inmate Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman.Justice E. Riley Anderson, who wrote…
November 7, 2005
Tennessee Supreme Court Justices E. Riley Anderson and Cornelia Clark and Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Cottrell attended an invitation-only National Conference on Appellate Justice in Washington, DC.The meeting, Nov. 4-6, focused on what changes may be necessary to accommodate a steady rise in…
November 10, 2005
Students from six Sullivan County high schools will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases as participants in a program created to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The 330 students and their teachers will attend a special Supreme Court session Nov. 16 at…
December 15, 2005
Randy Camp, who has served three years as state personnel commissioner, will become administrative director of the Tennessee court system effective Jan. 1, Chief Justice William M. Barker announced Thursday.“The Supreme Court is pleased that Commissioner Camp has agreed to accept the position,”…
December 15, 2005
The 7,000 daily visitors to the Tennessee court system website will have an easier time remembering how to get there. The old address - www.tsc.state.tn.us - will continue to work, but a new simpler address - www.tncourts.gov - has been added.The court system website was first introduced in 1995,…
December 29, 2005
A new state law, effective Jan. 1, could generate millions of dollars to bolster courthouse security in 94 counties without costing taxpayers a penny. Knox County opted out of the bill, which was enacted by the General Assembly during the 2005 legislative session.The statute also simplifies the…
January 25, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice E. Riley Anderson will retire Aug. 31, ending a judicial career that included four terms as chief justice and writing or participating in more than 3000 appellate court decisions.“It is with mixed feelings that I advise you that I will not be a candidate for re-…
January 26, 2006
Former Chief Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., will end a 43-year judicial career, including 19 years of appellate court service, with his August 31 retirement from the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Birch, described by Gov. Phil Bredesen as “a trailblazer in the legal profession,” is the only Tennessee…
February 15, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has filed an order that could lead to a substantial reduction in the amount of paper handled by the state’s three offices of the appellate court clerk and also improve access to court records by making more of them available online.But, before electronic filing – or e-…
February 17, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and death sentence William Glenn Rogers received for the 1996 rape and murder of 9-year-old Jacqueline Beard, who was abducted as she picked blackberries near her Clarksville home.“We have reviewed all of the issues raised by Rogers and…
February 21, 2006
The Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission will hold two separate meetings to fill vacancies on the state Supreme Court being created by the Aug. 31 retirements of Justices E. Riley Anderson of Knoxville and Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., of Nashville, commission chairman Mike Bottoms said Monday.“I…
February 22, 2006
The death sentence Memphis jurors imposed on a man who raped and murdered his 13-year-old stepdaughter after luring her into a wooded area has been upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court.Charles Rice was sentenced to death for the June 18, 2000, stabbing murder of Emily Branch. The girl, whose body…
February 28, 2006
In a decision affirming the death sentence a Memphis man received for killing his girlfriend, the Tennessee Supreme Court has held for the first time that jurors’ identities may be withheld if their safety could be jeopardized by disclosing their names to criminal defendants.
Writing for a 4-1…
March 16, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence jurors imposed on a murderer who stabbed his frail 81-year-old victim 27 times and then shook the body to make sure he was dead before fleeing with stolen cash and other items.Steven James Rollins was convicted of killing bait shop owner…
March 16, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence inmate Stephen Lynn Hugueley received for stabbing a correctional officer 36 times, stopping only when the handle broke on a sharpened piece of metal he had devised as a weapon.Hugueley, who said he had no remorse for the murder, was an…
March 28, 2006
Term limits adopted by Shelby County voters for certain elected local officials are legal and constitutional, the Tennessee Supreme Court said in a unanimous decision filed Wednesday.
Under the Supreme Court ruling, plaintiffs in the case who have served two terms on the Shelby County Board of…
April 13, 2006
State Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker has been tapped by a Tennessee university and an Ohio law school as recipient of their 2006 Distinguished Alumni Awards.“To be Distinguished Alumni at one school is humbling, but to chosen for the award at both the University of Tennessee at…
April 27, 2006
Students from 18 Hamilton County high schools, along with 15 local home schooled students, will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases May 5 as participants in a program that educates young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.
The 677 students and their teachers will…
May 3, 2006
Tennessee Attorney General Paul G. Summers announced today he will not seek a second term as Attorney General when his term expires in August.He has made no plans for his immediate future at this time, except to continue his work with the Jason Foundation, a national nonprofit foundation dedicated…
May 17, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker will deliver The Webb School commencement address at 1:30 p.m. May 26 at the historic campus in Bell Buckle.“My brother attended Webb School and I have many fond memories of visiting him while he was a student there,” the chief justice said. “…