News
May 24, 2006
A University of Tennessee College of Law scholarship in memory of long-time Knoxville attorney Robert W. Ritchie, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, has been established by the Tennessee Judicial Conference Foundation. Ritchie died April 28 after a battle…
June 2, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence Cocke County jurors imposed on a truck driver for his role in the contract killing of his wife who was shot at close range after being lured to a remote area.Jonathan Wesley Stephenson was first sentenced to death in 1990 for the first…
May 30, 2006
American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate Wednesday, May 31, in the SCALES Program, an acronym for the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students. SCALES is a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative designed to educate young Tennesseans about…
June 6, 2006
Governor Bredesen appointed Gary R. Wade to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Wade, who has served as presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals since 1998, fills one of two vacancies created by the retirements of Justice E. Riley Anderson and Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.“Gary Wade is a highly…
June 16, 2006
A new state-of-the-art $49 million criminal justice building will be dedicated at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, in honor of Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., who is retiring Aug. 31 after 37 years of judicial service at every level of the court system.Birch BuildingThe A.A. Birch…
June 21, 2006
Award named for Drowota to be given each year to a Tennessee judgeFormer Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota was awarded the naugural Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award for Outstanding Judicial Service during the Tennessee Bar Association’s annual convention in Memphis last week.…
July 14, 2006
Voters will be allowed to decide in November whether they want a constitutional ban on gay marriage in Tennessee, the state Supreme Court said in a unanimous decision filed Friday.Had a legal challenge been successful, a public vote on the proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution would have…
August 14, 2006
Randy Camp, administrative director of the state court system, announced Monday he is leaving the position because of personal matters requiring his time and attention in West Tennessee.“For the past several months I have been dealing with personal matters involving my family in West Tennessee,”…
August 25, 2006
Incumbent and newly-elected Knox County judges and chancellors are among judicial officials being sworn in during a ceremony at 4 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Supreme Court Building, 505 Main St., Knoxville. Knoxville Bar Association President Steve Collins will preside over the 6th Judicial District event.…
August 29, 2006
Just days after retiring from a long legal and judicial career, Justice E. Riley Anderson will don his robe and sit with the Tennessee Supreme Court in Knoxville to hear 11 cases, including arguments concerning the validity of the Knox County Charter.“Because we have only four members of the court…
September 12, 2006
The day, which is meant to bring attention to non-adversarial options for conflict resolution, corresponds to International Conflict Resolution Day, which is observed each year on the third Thursday in October.To celebrate Mediation Day and focus public attention on the benefits of dispute…
September 14, 2006
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade will be sworn in by Gov. Phil Bredesen during a formal investiture ceremony at 2 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Sevier County Courthouse. The public is invited.
“I am deeply honored that the governor is traveling to my home town to take part in an event that is so…
October 18, 2006
Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes, former deputy director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), has been named administrative director of the state court system effective immediately, Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker announced Wednesday.
“This was not a difficult decision for the…
October 30, 2006
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., legal counsel to Gov. Phil Bredesen, was appointed Tuesday by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve an eight-year term as state attorney general and reporter. Chief Justice William M. Barker will administer the oath of office to Cooper at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Old Supreme…
November 9, 2006
Students from 19 public and private Shelby County high schools will hear arguments in three state Supreme Court cases Nov. 14 as participants in a program that educates young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The 400 students and their teachers will attend a special Supreme Court…
December 26, 2006
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and death sentences Paul Dennis Reid received for the execution-style murders of three Nashville McDonald’s employees who were shot to death after being forced to lie face down on the floor.In a majority opinion written by Justice Gary R. Wade…
January 18, 2007
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade has recused himself from participating in a case involving the process for filling a vacancy on the court. The Supreme Court normally has five members, but currently has only four, including Wade.The court will hear oral arguments in the case, Phil…
February 23, 2007
In 1976, when the Tennessee Supreme Court tapped Lance Bracy to be disciplinary counsel for the newly-created Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR), 4,433 attorneys were practicing law in the state. During the next 31 years, Bracy, who will retire May 1, has watched that number swell to 18,400…
February 28, 2007
New applications from Middle and West Tennessee will be accepted through March 16 for a vacant position on the Tennessee Supreme Court, Judicial Selection Commission Chairman Dale Tuttle said Wednesday.“The commission unanimously decided in a meeting today to reopen the application process in…
April 24, 2007
Nashville attorney Nancy S. Jones has been chosen by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve as chief disciplinary counsel for the state Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR). She will assume her new position May 29, succeeding Lance Bracy, who will retire May 25 after 31 years.
The BPR, an arm…