News
April 29, 2008
Chief Justice William M. Barker will retire effective at noon September 1 after a judicial career spanning 25 years.“It has been a great honor to serve the first twelve years as a circuit judge in Chattanooga, followed by three years on the Court of Criminal Appeals, and the last ten as a member of…
May 27, 2008
American Legion Boys State delegates from high schools in all 95 counties will participate Wednesday, May 28, 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 18, 2008
Circuit Court Judge William B. Acree, Jr., has been elected president of the 178-member Tennessee Judicial Conference (TJC), which includes all state appellate and trial court judges.Acree, who serves the 27th Judicial District, succeeds Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr…
June 30, 2008
Chief Justice William M. Barker will remain on the state Supreme Court until Sept. 15, two weeks later than his original retirement date, so the court will have its full five members for a Knoxville docket on Sept. 3, he said.“When I notified the governor in early May of my intended retirement on…
July 18, 2008
State Court of Appeals Judge J. Steven Stafford of Dyersburg has been named chairman of the Tennessee Bar Foundation, a philanthropic organization that administers a fund supporting law-related public projects and also honors attorneys who have distinguished themselves professionally.The Foundation…
August 20, 2008
Justice Janice M. Holder, the third woman in the state's history to serve on the Supreme Court of Tennessee, will become the first woman ever to serve as its chief justice when she is sworn into office at 2 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Supreme Court Building in Nashville."I am grateful to my colleagues on…
September 17, 2008
Circuit Court Judge Don Ash of the 16th Judicial District has been elected to a second term as presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. The 15-member panel receives complaints against judges and imposes sanctions for violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct.Tennessee Supreme Court…
September 26, 2008
Students from 16 Davidson County public and private schools will hear oral arguments in three state Supreme Court cases Thursday, Oct. 2, as participants in a program designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial system.The 450 high school students and their teachers will attend a…
September 29, 2008
Nashville - Governor Bredesen today appointed Sharon Gail Lee of Madisonville to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Lee, who has served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals since 2004, fills a vacancy created by the recent retirement of Justice William M. "Mickey" Barker."Sharon has served with distinction…
October 22, 2008
Former United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be the featured speaker October 27 at the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society's annual dinner.The event, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Nashville Downtown Hilton, will honor Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice M. Holder…
November 7, 2008
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the death and prison sentences imposed on Devin Banks of Memphis for killing a friend and severely wounding a second man who was left for dead in the driveway of his home during a robbery.Banks was convicted of premeditated murder, murder during the…
December 8, 2008
December 5, 2008Remarks by Chief Justice Janice M. Holder Supreme Court of TennesseeAs many of you already know, the Supreme Court of Tennessee has designated access to justice as a strategic priority this year and in the years to come. On behalf of the Supreme Court, I thank you for joining us…
March 13, 2009
Oath of Office to be Administered by Governor Phil BredesenGovernor Phil Bredesen will administer the oath of office to Justice Sharon G. Lee in a formal investiture ceremony on Friday, March 20, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in the Supreme Court courtroom in Knoxville. This ceremony is open to everyone.…
April 1, 2009
On Friday, April 3, 2009, the Tennessee Supreme Court will adopt three amendments to the rules governing the practice of law that will encourage more lawyers to volunteer to provide pro bono legal services to Tennesseans who need legal assistance but cannot afford it. These new rules are in…
April 3, 2009
The Tennessee Supreme Court today announced the creation of a new statewide Access to Justice Commission to help address the growing civil legal needs crisis in Tennessee. The ten-member Commission is chaired by Margaret Behm, a Nashville lawyer with Dodson Parker Behm & Caparella, PC who has…
May 4, 2009
NASHVILLE - The Administrative Office of the Courts is pleased to announce the addition of Laura Click as public information officer for the Tennessee Court System. Click comes to the AOC from the Department of Finance and Administration where she served as the communications director for Project…
May 13, 2009
Nashville, Tenn. - The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Marlon Duane Kiser for the first degree premeditated murder of Hamilton County Deputy Sheriff Donald Bond. Kiser shot Deputy Bond several times with a high-powered assault rifle when Bond interrupted Kiser’s arson…
May 21, 2009
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark spoke to the graduates of the 21st Judicial District Drug Court on May 21. The 21st Judicial District Drug Court, which covers Williamson, Hickman, Perry and Lewis Counties, helps non-violent drug offenders recover from substance abuse.Graduates of the…
May 27, 2009
On May 27, 2009, the Tennessee Supreme Court brought the SCALES program to Tennessee Boys State for the seventh consecutive year. SCALES, which stands for Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students, is a Tennessee Supreme Court initiative designed to educate high school students about the…
May 29, 2009
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee spoke to hundreds of high school juniors at both the 2009 Boys State and Girls State programs.On May 27, she addressed more than 600 students at Tennessee Boys State, which was held at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. During her remarks, she shared…